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The GT Weekend! ~ Wilderness 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) We began our Journey Into Wilderness with an easily forgotten Old Testament wanderer, Cain. Perhaps you’ve never read his story, or maybe you only think of him as the murderer who jealously killed his own brother. Maybe, like me, you’ve never considered how your wilderness may have reflections of Cain’s wanderings. Remembering that every story in the whole of Scripture is meant to point toward the grander narrative of the Lord Jesus’ rescue for sinners and His magnificent love for them, how can you see God’s gracious love toward both Cain and Abel? (read their full story in Genesis 4) We may want to excuse ourselves from the wrecking shame and damage of sin, by claiming we’ve never done “that”, where “that” is our “unthinkable deed”. In doing this, however, we easily gloss over our other sins. None of us can be excused from the deadly price tag of sin. All sin breaks relationship, no matter how large or small. As you reflect on Cain’s story this weekend, ask the Lord to convict you of sin. Then take the next step and bravely confess that sin to another fellow believer and ask them to hold you accountable in not choosing that sin.

2) On Wednesday, Paula provided us with comparison between our lives and embroidery work. The backside is a seeming disarray of crisscrossed, zig-zagging threads jumbled, cut, and tied in a ridiculous maze. Only when flipping over the final product can we make out the lovely scene produced by the apparent tangling of threads. What scenes of your life feel, or have felt, chaotic, mismatched, and meaningless? As you reflect on these, what emotions are the strongest? Put names to them and think about the pains involved in those scenarios. Considering Job’s losses in the areas of health, friendships, wealth, respect, and family, which ones most closely connect with your story? Job’s pain ran deeper than he ever anticipated, as evidenced by his desire for death and his wish to have never been born. Still, he refused to curse God, and insisted the Lord was sovereign and good. What truths will you adamantly cling to as you re-frame your wilderness season? Are these truths reliable? How do you know? Spend time in this weekend reading Job 38-42 and glean stabilizing truths!

3) “If I become a Christian, my life should be easy, successful, and enjoyable.” This is an easy misconception to fall into, but we only need to briefly read Scripture to understand that belief system isn’t supported by biblical teaching. If Christ Jesus, as God the Son, entered the Wilderness, was persecuted, threatened, disowned, mocked, ridiculed, and torturously killed, why would His followers expect to be treated royally with a life of ease? Why would anyone decide to commit their lives to following this kind of Savior? Have you asked yourself this question? Amazingly, our reasons for why we follow are layered into Jesus’ wilderness experience. He holds all authority. Though He took on human flesh, and chose humanity, He still retained His deity. At any point during His wilderness Jesus could have ended Satan’s attacks and sent him packing. But He didn’t. He chose suffering again and again, so He could be our personal Savior. The God who holds all authority also loves with empathetic compassion having lived humanity like us, but was without sin, unlike us. In incredible love, He did what we could not accomplish on our own, and He holds out this gift freely for all. Yes, following this Savior is worth everything.

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 Job 23:10-12 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold. My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept to His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commands from His lips; I have treasured the words from His mouth more than my daily food.

Prayer Journal
Lord Jesus, I am a mess. My heart loves myself. My circumstances are a swirling mess of puzzle pieces. I get lost in alternating waves of doubt and trust for You. My faith is weak. This pressing on all sides wears me thin. Still, in all of this, Your Word says I am known. My ways are known by You. My brokenness, my weariness, my doubts, fears, and desperate places as I wander this wilderness are all known by You. Lord, my God, my only Hope in life or death, You promise to bring me forth through all of this as pure gold. Lord, what a breathtaking wonder! What an astounding, attentive, loving Sovereign! My Jesus, remind me of this truth when I’m tempted to only fix my attention on my surroundings. You are worthy of my constant praise! May my heart learn to worship and trust You alone in this process of refinement!

Worship Through Community

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Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Wilderness Day 3 Job’s Wilderness & My Own

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Job 19:25-27
Job 23:10-17
Job 42:5-17
Psalm 18:25-36
1 Peter 1:3-9

Wilderness, Day 3

Life is like embroidery work.

A piece of embroidery has two sides, two stories stitched simultaneously. The back is often a tangle of knots and strings, giving only a faint suggestion of the front image. Our life on earth is like the back of that piece, while God is creating a magnificent work of art on the other side; a stunning, eternal masterpiece.

Tucked away in the Old Testament lies a remarkable story that mirrors this sort of heavenly embroidery: the story of our brother Job and his staggering loss. His struggles challenge his understanding of God and leave him with more questions than answers.

Before we reach the end of chapter one, we find him stunned and grief-stricken. (Job 1) Job had recently placed the lifeless bodies of all 10 of his children in their graves. In the space of a few hours, he became a dweller of the surreal Land of Loss all grievers know well. In this land, nothing matters but the gaping wound and the ever-present pain.

The dust settles and Job’s questions arise.

“Why was I not stillborn;
Why didn’t I die as I came from the womb? [. . .]
Why is light given to one burdened with grief,
And life to those whose existence is bitter,
Who waits for death, but it does not come [. . .]
I have no rest, for turmoil has come.” (Job 3:11, 20-21, 26)

Wealth can be rebuilt, illness treated. Children cannot be replaced. Yet these priceless treasures were unceremoniously ripped away in a freak accident.

Job had no explanation. He was not privy to the conversations between God and Satan relayed in the text. (Job 1:6-12, Job 2:1-7) His confusion is warranted; His understanding of God and His ways were just body-slammed.

Like Job, our finite minds conclude our all-powerful, compassionate God can and should stop all suffering; yet, He doesn’t. We all have scars to prove it. Any notion suggesting God miraculously delivers His own from painful trials is patently false. (John 16:33)

So, in the quiet back channels of our soul, the unending “why” rises like a mist. Our suffering doesn’t make sense; He doesn’t make sense.

We’re reminded of the back of the embroidery work, where life is mostly a confusion of outlines, knots, and strings. Truthfully, Job never received answers to the questions haunting his sleepless nights, and we may not, either. Still, truth remains; God acts for His holy and eternal purposes. (Isaiah 40:12-14, 21-26)

I have spent ample time in the ash-heap of grief. Our brother Job buried ten children; I buried one. During my sojourn into loss, several stabilizing mindsets emerged, anchoring my soul with solid hope. Solid hope, I found, resides in solid truth—the truth of Scripture. As I began the practice of marinating my soul in Scripture, I came to know God as my Companion and Friend. The more deeply I knew Him, the more I trusted Him, which empowered tenacious devotion, gritty faith, and audacious obedience. (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

Frankly, were it not for my solid foundation of truth, I would not have survived Matthew’s long-term illness and death with my faith intact.

Though my anchor held fast, I too, wrestled through puzzling contradictions and unanswered questions. However, through the pain and confusion, this truth rose in an ever-present whisper: life on earth is not our only. Eternity awaits just beyond, through the veil of time and space.

As I await eternity, I find encouragement in Apostle Paul’s words:

“Therefore, we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

This truth gave perspective and purpose for the pain, while infusing a deeply-abiding, grounded hope and true joy for the reality of eternity.

This solid relationship with God empowered me to face life with unanswered questions, much like our brother Job. In the dark night of my soul, He whispered, “I see you; I am with you. I’m doing something deep and beautiful. Trust Me.” His words were mostly about trust and relationship; very little was said about changing circumstances in my favor.

Through the loneliness and desperation rose quiet, peaceful intimacy. He became my treasure and joy. I became fruitful, even in the place of pain. Knowing my Jesus was in control, holding my boys and I in His arms, became enough for me. I could maneuver through the knots and strings, knowing Who was creating a masterpiece on the flip-side.

Though we live on the backside now, when we see Him, He will flip the embroidery piece. We will be stunned at the masterpiece He created from what we only knew as tangled knots and strings. How could we imagine He’s been working all along, refining gold through our painful trials, weaving glistening threads through our darkest days, and crafting delicate, priceless jewels from our deepest sorrows.

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

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The GT Weekend! ~ Kneel Week 2

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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) Jesus is the greatest authority of all time. He is the beginning and the end, the life-giving vine, and He made himself low that we might have fellowship with Him and abide in Him. He is present with us, and He is our great High Priest, which means IN HIM, we have direct access to God the Father. How would your prayer life change if you fully embraced the knowledge that Jesus Himself presents our requests to the Father? He says that whatever we ask in His name He would give us. Consider the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. Read the prayer out loud and consider what it could look like if God were to answer each of the requests listed there for your life. If you want to study this prayer with fresh insight, pick a few studies from our Journey Into Prayer theme. Then take a moment to examine your heart. Are you abiding in Christ? Is there a pattern of sin in your life that you need to repent from? Is there someone you have wronged and need to make amends with? Repent of your sins, make a plan to be at peace with everyone as much as it depends on you (Romans 12:18), then boldly approach the throne of God (Hebrews 4:16), making your requests known to Him with thankfulness (Philippians 4:6). Don’t be afraid to pray big and pray specific. Speak your requests out loud and worship your God. He can do far more than you can ask or imagine. Watch to see how He works in your life.

2) On Wednesday, Bethany challenged us to pray while assuming the best about God. She reminded us we are called to pray about everything, that God wants to know us better, that He is characterized by giving good gifts, that He knows us and what we are struggling with, and finally that He is gracious to us. Which of these truths do you struggle to believe the most? Talk to God about this today. Write down one or two of these truths that are difficult to accept. Why are these harder to believe? What holds you back from accepting God’s character and graciousness toward you? What would need to change for you to believe it? After you consider these questions, look back at the Scriptures Bethany presented to confirm the truth about God’s character. As you read the words God gave us about Himself, consider what would change for you if you truly embraced these things about God. Finally, write a prayer asking God to help you assume the best about Him, and pray as though you do believe those things. God can and will meet you even in the midst of unbelief. He will help you, because He desires you to know Him more.

3) When Daniel prayed to God on behalf of the people of Israel, he didn’t ask for forgiveness because he or the people deserved it. He acknowledged before the Lord how they had done nothing to deserve His forgiveness or action on their behalf. Instead, Daniel asked because he knew the Lord had (and still has!) abundant compassion. Even in our weakest moments, we can rely on God’s character to remain the same. He is gracious and compassionate. “What are you waiting on? What are you wrestling through? What are your hardships? Bring them to the Lord.” Ponder in your heart if you can agree with the Apostle Paul when he says, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” And Sister, remember you do not need to be strong on your own. When we have a personal relationship with Jesus, He gives us strength for each day. (Ephesians 6:10) As an additional help, His church is meant to support one another. As you face your struggles today, would you walk in humility and share your journey with a trustworthy Jesus-follower? As we allow others into our trials, we give them the gift of seeing the Lord work in His great strength along with us. Paul boasted of His weakness that Christ would be made great. We can join in this gift with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

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 Colossians 1:9b-13 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

…We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience, joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.

Prayer Journal
Dearest Heavenly Father, boldly we approach the throne room of grace. Not by any merit or achievement, but only by the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf. Thank You for hearing our prayers. Thank You for making a way for us to speak with You directly. You are present with us at all times, whether we are aware or not. Help me, Oh Lord, to live and breathe a life of prayerful dependence on You. May I never lose sight of my deep, abiding need for You. My weaknesses, whether on display or hidden away, show me my inadequacies, but You Lord are strong in all my shortcomings. Lord, I believe You when You say You give good gifts to You children. I believe You know all things, even before I speak. I believe You are gracious. Help me in my unbelief. You know the deepest desires of my heart. You know my greatest needs and my hardest struggles. In Your mercy, hear my desperate cry for help, and be my Rock, my Anchor, my unfailing Refuge. Guide me in paths of righteousness for the sake of Your great Name. Help me to walk in Your faithfulness, ever mindful of my need for You, casting my care upon You at all times.

Worship Through Community

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

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Share how God spoke to you today!
Comment Here or in our Facebook Community Group!

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Worship IX Day 15 The God Who Is

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Genesis 3
Exodus 34:4-9
Isaiah 57:15-20
Colossians 1:3-23
Revelation 5

Worship IX, Day 15

It was a quid pro quo arrangement with God.
My part was excellence on all points in Christian living;
His was to deliver my version of the blessed and beautiful Christian life.

Despite my quest for perfect performance, my only consistent accomplishment was failure. I was caught in a self-defeating, self-inflicted trap. My expectations and reality were worlds apart, resulting in a brutal head-on collision. I slumped in the wreckage of disappointment, a casualty of my own deception. Had I misunderstood Him; did I even truly know Him?

My disillusionment led me to Scripture, where I encountered the tender, yet terrifying God Who Is. 

I found God reveals Himself in seemingly-opposing ways.
He honors humans with intimate friendship, yet acts independently,
delineating His realm of existence; we are creatures, He is Creator.
In divine wisdom, He takes action, reinstating order where humans create chaos,
all the while working out His redemptive plan for humanity.

The Creator “walk[ed] in the garden at the time of the evening breeze” with Adam and Eve in Eden. (Genesis 3:8)
He also banished them from Eden following their rebellion. (Genesis 3:22-24)

In Noah, He confided His regret in creating mankind, and His plan to decimate creation with a deluge, restarting with Noah and his family. He dictated instructions for their ark of rescue, then proceeded with the deluge. (Genesis 6, 7, 8, 9)

He chose a pagan named Abram, renamed him Abraham, and honored him with covenants and promises. God called Abraham His friend, yet clearly illustrated to Abraham that his Friend was the Divine Power. God made shocking demands of Abraham, yet in the process, sketched His overarching plan for humanity’s redemption. (Learn more about Abraham in Genesis 11-25)

He shepherded Abraham’s descendants through multiple generations, revealing Himself by the name “I AM” to Moses, and honoring Moses with the first character description of Himself. (Exodus 3) Once again, when the evil of mankind had reached His limits, “I AM” stepped in, restoring order, wielding judgement, and delivering Israel by His bared, holy arm. (Learn more about God’s rescue of Israel in Exodus 1-14)

“I AM” guided Israel by a pillar of cloud and fire, protected them, and established them as a nation. He called men and women who followed Him for bold missions, feats of valor, and fearless preaching. Prophets foretold “I AM” would come in human form. His mission would be to redeem fallen humanity. (Isaiah 52:13-53:12)

Weathered sages scratched truth-filled messages and prophetic visions onto sacred scrolls. Once again, they told of “I AM,” Who seeks tender friendship with mankind, yet, remains “in a high and holy place.” (Isaiah 57:15)

He speaks comfort, extends lovingkindness, and powerfully protects. (Isaiah 41:8-11)
In the same breath, He holds mankind accountable for their choices. Once again, “I AM” emblazons the distinction between mankind and Himself. (Isaiah 40–41)

All the while, “I AM” is weaving together our redemption, revealing with uncanny clarity His jaw-dropping plan to redeem mankind by coming in human form as their Passover Lamb. (Isaiah 53)

Prophetic words came true; “I AM” arrived as “God with us.”
The Holy Spirit divinely fathered Jesus in Mary’s womb. (Matthew 1:18-23)
He lived a common, yet wholly uncommon life; fully human, fully God. Jesus championed authentic religion marked by ongoing compassion for the helpless and hopeless while offending the elite with truth. He revealed His divine power and identity simply to undergird the tenderly flowering faith of His followers and underscore His bold assertions, He was eternity’s “I AM” in human form.

He was “I AM” submitting to the slashing whip and criminal’s crucifixion.
God, slaughtered as the unblemished Passover Lamb. (Matthew 26-27)

“I AM,” “a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth” (Exodus 34:6), so accessible and relatable— so killable. He was born to die, all while remaining God and conquering death. Resurrection Day both seals and celebrates His resounding victory! (Matthew 28)

Following Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, His disciples were freshly empowered by the truth and His indwelling Holy Spirit. (Acts 2) So, they turned the world upside-down with the gospel. In a stunning vision, the aging Apostle John received a glimpse into Heaven’s throne-room where his Friend awaits. It was Him! Israel’s Passover Lamb; Judah’s warring Lion; his Friend, Jesus of Nazareth, the Great “I AM”! (Learn more about John’s vision in the book of Revelation)

Dwelling in holy friendship with such other-worldly majesty—how can it be?  What does He want with us?

Simply, He wants us.
The stunning truth is that dwelling amidst His holy thunder, communing with “I AM” as Friend with friend, is a reality available to all who are unafraid to press in and follow Him in trusting obedience. (Isaiah 57:15-21, Micah 4:1-8, James 4:4-10)

We will never understand Him; He is incomprehensible.

We will never grasp the magnificent condescension of His redemptive work on our behalf.  However, like the heavenly throng, the unnerving eye-covered creatures and the Apostle himself, we too can gaze transfixed upon the Victorious Lamb, joining the unending chorus, crying, “Blessing and honor and glory and power [. . . ] be to the Lamb, forever and ever!” (Revelation 5: 9-14)

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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 IX Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Click the above image for today’s Digging Deeper!

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

Ten Day 13 What Is Truth?

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Colossians 3:1-17
Exodus 20:16
John 14:6-11
John 8:39-47
2 Corinthians 4:1-6
John 18: 28-38

Ten, Day 13

“What is Truth?” 

Mankind has grappled with the definition of truth throughout the ages. Hours before His death, Pilate posed this question to Jesus. But Pilate’s query was rhetorical, meant to dismiss the subject. He was only interested in the truth of Rome, Caesar, and political power (Morris).

Even today, the struggle to define and understand truth persists. Many people want to believe in a truth of their own, based on perspective or personal preference. But Scripture teaches God alone is our source of absolute, unchanging, timeless, big “T” Truth.

We read throughout Scripture that God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:1-2). Furthermore, God declared His character to Moses on Mount Sinai:

“the Lord is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth.” (Exodus 34:6, emphasis mine)

Brad Bright, son of the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, comments, “He is present everywhere, knows all things, and totally understands what is real, right, and true. Therefore, whatever He says is absolutely true.”

As our source of all truth, God is the basis for everything in our lives.
God gave us the Bible to help us understand truth.
He guides us into truth through the Holy Spirit.
God revealed truth to us in the person of Jesus who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life“. (John 14:6)
Jesus, the Son of God, IS Truth. (Guzik, Enduring Word)

In stark opposition, Satan is the Father of Lies (John 8:44). Satan spewed out the very first lie in the Garden when he assured Eve she would not die if she disobeyed God.
(Genesis 3) He has been denying, resisting, twisting, stretching, and confusing the truth ever since. In her book, Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth encourages us “to wake up to the deception that is so pervasive. So much of our lifestyle is rooted in ways of thinking that simply are not true. The result is a house built on sinking sand.”

Satan loves to take the Holy Scriptures and twist them, just a bit, to confuse us. If he can convince us just one part of the Bible is not true, he has his foot in the door. Soon, we question everything God has said to us.

With this knowledge of God as the source of truth and Satan as the source of lies, we can easily see why it was necessary to include the ninth commandment in the Law:

“Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:16)

One commentary explains, “to bear false witness against others is to lie about them, especially for personal gain. God’s people were not to lie publicly, as in a court of law by laying at another’s feet any false charge that could injure him, nor were they to lie privately by whispering, tale-bearing, backbiting, slandering, or destroying his character by innuendos, sly insinuations, and evil suggestions.”

The commandments reveal God’s righteous character to us, and establish a way for us to reflect His righteous character to the world. When we embrace His exhortation to “be holy, because I am holy,” we reflect the One True God to those around us. (1 Peter 1:15-17)

By the same token, the commandments serve as a mirror for us. They reflect how
utterly lost we are and how much we need a Savior. If we judge our lives against the
Ten Commandments, we fail completely.
Without Christ, we can do nothing;
but through Christ, we are justified.
Our forgiven and transformed lives point to Christ, so others will see Him through us. (2 Corinthians 4:1-6)

Thank God for His gift of the Holy Spirit to guide and direct our lives! He reveals to us the deception of the Evil One and guides us into truth. (John 16:13) Indeed, “His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness”. (2 Peter 1:3-4)

As you examine your life with the mirror of truth today, what reflection do you see?

In a society of relativism and the idea that “anything goes,” have we been tricked by Satan’s lies? Do our actions demonstrate our knowledge of the truth? Are we delving into God’s Word daily to walk in the light of His Truth? The truth will only be found by those who diligently and honestly seek it. Let us commit ourselves to seek Him and walk in the light of His truth.

“Teach me your way, Lord, and I will live by your truth!” (Psalm 86:11)

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

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Sketched VII Day 12 My Shaping Moments: 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 My Shaping Moments!

The Questions

1) What is mercy in this context?

2) What is grace in this context?

3) How are we alike or different from Paul?

1 Timothy 1:12-20

I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry— 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies previously made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the good fight, 19 having faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and have shipwrecked their faith. 20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.

Original Intent

1) What is mercy in this context?
Our English word for mercy comes from the Greek word eleeo, meaning compassionate and tender kindness. Throughout the New Testament, eleeo is used to convey the idea of God not punishing as we justly deserve; this is an act of mercy. Because of our sinful rebellion against God, we deserve instant exile into eternal separation from God, but because of His mercy, He gives each of us time to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) In this letter to Timothy we see Paul recounting how merciful God was to him.  Paul was rebelling against God, imprisoning and murdering Christians, but God showed Paul mercy by continuing to give him life, patiently waiting for Paul to come to repentance, and by mercifully giving him the opportunity to repent multiple times over. Mercy, God’s tender-hearted compassion toward His people by not giving them what they justly deserve, is abundant throughout the Bible. We see Moses writing about mercy in Numbers 14:18, describing God’s slowness to anger even though He will also dispense consequences because He is loving and just. David writes about God’s mercy and compassion throughout the Psalms. Some examples are Psalm 86:5, Psalm 103:8 and Psalm 145:8-9. We see God Himself speaking through the prophet Isaiah about His tireless compassion towards His people in Isaiah 65:2 in spite of their rebellious actions and attitudes.

2) What is grace in this context?
In the original Greek, grace is charis. Its definition is broader than mercy, but includes the attributes of mercy as kindness and compassion. Grace is like an umbrella that mercy fits beneath, but it also carries the idea of undeserved favor represented by a gift. It also comes from the Hebrew word hsd, or hesed, meaning loving-kindness. All of this comes together beautifully presented as a lavish, entirely unmerited, impossible-to-earn gift, which is given out of God’s core character of love. Grace is given unconditionally, knowing the favorable gift could never be repaid. God states that He is the God of grace, love, forgiveness, and favor in Exodus 34:6-7. Grace sees the impoverished orphan and lovingly provides lavishly for that orphan, treating her as precious and priceless, knowing she could never do anything to earn the gift or ever do anything valuable enough to repay her benefactor. (Ephesians 1:5-9) Paul says in verse 14 that the “grace of our Lord overflowed” to him, meaning a new life, fully undeserved, was given to Paul as a gift. This is grace!

3) How are we alike or different from Paul?
Before Saul’s encounter with God, and his subsequent surrender to Christ as well as his name change to Paul, we see him as a Pharisee, a very learned man of the Law. Meaning he knew the Torah, the first 5 books of our Bible, and was well practiced in working hard to keep every bit of the Law, while also making sure others were keeping it as well.  The Torah is full of lengthy passages of rules, rituals, and laws for Israel to follow as a nation. (Don’t let this deter you from reading it, however, there are some incredible stories and accounts of interesting people!) As a Pharisee, Saul believed every Jew was to uphold those laws, or else they were deemed not ‘good enough’ for God. Saul (before he became Paul) wrongly believed anyone could attain their own righteousness by following these Old Testament laws. Flying in the face of these laws, Saul saw the followers of Jesus as wrong and blasphemous against God because Jesus taught that He was the fulfillment of those laws because only in Him could anyone be declared righteous. Jesus taught it was through faith one became righteous to God, not through works of the Law. This inflamed Saul, and his fellow Pharisees! So, he set out to destroy all who followed Christ. In Acts 8:1 he has a follower of Christ, Stephen, put to death. (Acts 6:8-8:3) In Acts 8:3, Saul goes house to house physically removing anyone who has professed that Jesus is Lord. Finally, by God’s grace, God stops Saul in his literal tracks in Acts 9:1-7 and opens Saul’s heart to realize how everything he had been doing was in opposition to God.

Everyday Application

1) What is mercy in this context?
In today’s world we tend to use the word compassion more often than mercy as it seems to be an outdated term for most. In our society, we most often associate compassion with rooting for the underdog or a feeling of kindness to someone less fortunate. But oh, do we need to be reminded of true, biblical mercy! While we are urged to show mercy and compassion to one another as a reflection of God’s heart in Scripture (Luke 10:37), eleeo goes deeper than compassion. Compassion sees a hurting friend and lovingly walks beside them in grief. Mercy looks at the teenager who snuck out against the known rule and says, I will not punish you as you rightly deserve. Eleeo is most often used in the New Testament to demonstrate a kind, tender mercy that comes from God. Mercy is an act of God, too magnificent for us to fully comprehend because our injustices against Him are too great. Take time to look up these passages using eleeo and consider how unfathomably great is God’s mercy towards us. (Luke 1:50, Jude 1:21, Titus 3:5, Ephesians 2:4) Then allow this overwhelming richness of mercy to motivate you to extend mercy towards others as a reflection of God’s magnificent eleeo mercy! (1 Peter 1:3)

2) What is grace in this context?
There is a popular saying describing the difference between grace and mercy by stating, “Grace is when God gives us what we don’t deserve. Mercy is when God doesn’t give us what we do deserve.” These two may sound similar, but by this description, God’s gift of wiping away our sin is a gift of grace because He is giving us what we do not deserve. Mercy could be receiving a less harsh consequence. For example, when a judge is lenient with a defendant and gives a lesser punishment, he is showing mercy. Mercy stops the executioner from delivering deserved justice to the offender. Grace then enters to give that offender the gift of walking out of his jail cell with his sentence marked “paid in full”. Mercy compassionately doesn’t give what is rightly deserved. Grace kindly gives what could never be deserved. Grace is never about legalism, checking all the boxes, and working hard to earn favor. (Galatians 5:4) Grace is undeserved no matter how hard we try to win it; it cannot be won. We are saved not by the ‘law’, or our attempts at good deeds, but by God’s gracious love and favor; this is His grace towards us. (Ephesians 2:4-5) Grace wins over sin every time for the one who puts their faith fully in the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf at the cross. This lavish gift of grace, however, doesn’t mean Christians have received a ‘free pass’ to keep on sinning. (Romans 5:20-6:2) Rather, the recipient of such grace is motivated to live for Christ, the One who set them free to live a life of love instead of sin!

3) How are we alike or different than Paul?
In our humanity, we are all like Paul when he was Saul, because we all rebel against God, seeking to be our own “god”. Perhaps, like Saul, we are ignorant of the saving message of Jesus, even if we do know God exists, which, as a Pharisee, Paul did. He knew all about God, but didn’t see anything he did as sinful, until God Himself showed him the error of his ways on the Damascus road. We can be very much like that.  Whether that sin is giving in to doing something we know is completely wrong, or simply falling prey to ‘little’ sins.  Backbiting, lying, slander, stealing, and many others are examples of sin, but there are no “small sins” to God; even one marks us unholy, resulting in eternal separation from a perfectly holy God. We also sin by simply not acknowledging that we are indeed broken and sinful. (1 John 1:8) We can think, like Saul did, that by being ‘good’ we are saved and are in “good enough” standing with God. We deem ourselves as righteous. We get caught up in the “laws” in our mind of how people should act and behave, without ever considering that maybe there is something in ourselves that needs to change. The beautiful thing is, God is indeed gracious and merciful, overflowing with compassion and love. We don’t need to do anything to earn His love and forgiveness, other than repent and turn away from a life of sin and acknowledge He alone is holy, and in His mercy and grace, provided a way to rescue us from sin by sacrificing Himself for us. That’s it!  2 Peter 3:9 says God desires that none should perish.  Because of God’s great love for us and His blood which He shed on the cross, we can come to Him in repentance and He will pour His unfailing love and grace out on us. (Ephesians 1:5, John 1:4, Romans 5:2)

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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)
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in your everyday!

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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?!

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Open Day 13 Radical Offering

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Read His Words Before Ours!

2 Kings 4:8-17
Matthew 6:1-4
Matthew 25:42-46

Open, Day 13

Twelve years ago, I met a woman we’ll call “Marcy”.
Marcy’s children and I went to the same school and attended the same church. I knew Marcy’s children better than I knew Marcy, but over the years, we served together in different ministries at church and grew closer.

Marcy and her family live in a beautiful home, her husband has a solid job, and from the outside looking in, it appears that Marcy has everything she needs and even wants. That’s all pretty surface-y, but I’m guessing we can all imagine someone with Marcy’s lifestyle.

However, I know something else about Marcy….
I know she and her husband live out selfless generosity.
All without saying anything to anyone.

The only way I could possibly know this is if I were a benefactor of their open-handed generosity… which I am.
Marcy has opened her home over and over as a welcome place for discipleship, worship, blessing, celebrating, and feeding others. Including me.
I’ve watched Marcy open her arms to people of all walks of life… sometimes she doesn’t remember their names, but she never forgets a face! That Marcy would literally give the shoes off of her feet to someone… and she has.

My mom once told Marcy the shoes she was wearing were adorable and that I would love them. Finding out we wore the same size, she literally took her shoes off of her feet, handed them to my mom, and told her to give them to me.

Marcy’s husband has used his profession to assist my parents on the mission field at no cost to them. Together they bought my entire cart full of Christmas gifts when we ran into one another at Target, where they were purchasing food to serve to parents with sick kiddos.  This couple have poured themselves out to love others in countless ways as they have discipled, mentored, and given away what they had for others. Marcy told me once that nothing they own is actually theirs, it all belongs to God. 

The reason we’re even calling her “Marcy”, is because many of the times she has given to me, she has sworn me to secrecy. She and her husband live out Matthew 6:1-4 with extravagance! While I could go on about this couple and their generosity, they would humbly remind me that living with open hands and hearts is simply the means by which they are called to further the Kingdom.

Marcy reminds me of a woman in the Bible whose name also isn’t mentioned… perhaps because her heart was so similar to Marcy’s. She wasn’t concerned about being remembered only about living generously.

This nameless woman is known as the “Shunammite Woman”.
Like our friend, Gaius, she isn’t well known, but from Scripture, we do know she was wealthy, married, and perhaps most importantly:
she used hospitality to love others well.

The benefactor of her gifts was a prophet named Elisha.
Elisha and this woman somehow met when he visited her town. She insisted on feeding him. (Which I can only laugh at because I literally try to force-feed my brother every time he visits. “Are you hungry? No? Are you sure? Here, I made spaghetti last night, let me just reheat some for you. I also have salad and brownies and coffee and the lesser-known sparkling water, Bubly!”)

The Shunammite Woman must’ve been a pretty decent cook, because after their first encounter, Elisha stopped by her house to eat every single time he visited. I can’t imagine the conversations that occurred, but there is no doubt that Elisha shared about the One True God, Yahweh, with this woman and her husband. Before long, the Shunammite Woman referred to Elisha as a ‘holy man of God’ and had a room built just for him on the roof of their house. They fully furnished the room and welcomed Elisha and his servant readily.

Many of us have guest rooms and happily welcome visitors throughout the year, but to actually construct an entire room specifically for a guest-turned friend is radical.
Elisha wasn’t family.
This wasn’t a neat Airbnb designed for income off of Elisha.
This was love and hospitality and generosity.

After becoming aware of the work the One True God was doing through Elisha, they used what they had – a rooftop – to support God’s Kingdom work in their community.
Expecting nothing in return.

I’ve been writing this Journey study while sitting in my church’s building watching the hustle and bustle of daily church activities occur. Just a moment ago, friends of mine who are empty-nesters, came over to chat and I asked why they were here on a Thursday morning. “Oh, we have four camp counselors staying at our house and we told them we’d come see them at camp today!”
Open handed generosity.

This same couple has opened up their home again and again for Kingdom work.
After becoming aware of the work the One True God is doing, this couple used what they had – a home with empty rooms – to support God’s work in our community.

Sisters, it doesn’t take much for us to demonstrate incredible hospitality like Marcy, the Shunammite woman, or my empty-nester friends.
Each are using what they have – their homes, their love for people, and their love for the Father – to further the work God is doing.

We don’t need a secure job with a steady income, just an open heart.
Maybe all we have is a pull-out couch, bottomless coffee, or cold water on a hot day.

God takes our willingness,
our open hands,
and open hearts,
and He builds His Kingdom!

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