equipped

Anchored Day 9 Yoked & Equipped: Digging Deeper

2 Comments

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 Yoked & Equipped!

The Questions

1) What is meant by “if you have been raised”? (verse 1)

2) How is your life hidden in Christ and how does it appear? (verses 3-4)

3) How are “putting on the new self” and “renewed in knowledge” connected? (verse 10)

Colossians 3:1-11

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

5 Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, God’s wrath is coming upon the disobedient, 7 and you once walked in these things when you were living in them. 8 But now, put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator. 11 In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.

Original Intent

1) What is meant by “if you have been raised”? (verse 1)
Paul is known throughout Scripture for his logical persuasive arguments, taking his audience step by step into a greater understanding of the fullness of the gospel. You can generally spot his points with words like “therefore” or “if”. The latter is a little harder for us to understand in our western way of processing, but if we get in the mindset of seeing Paul building a solid argument, it’s easier to grasp. Paul uses “if” to draw sharp contrasts, helping his audience understand that because of (if) our identity and inheritance in Christ, it only makes sense to live, act, or think a certain way. In contrast, it becomes apparent how foolish it is to live contrary to the lifestyle Paul outlines because we’ve been made new for a purpose.

2) How is your life hidden in Christ and how does it appear? (verses 3-4)
“For you have died…” is Paul’s lead in to a life hidden in Christ. For someone who trusts Christ as Savior and Rescuer that phrase is the best news ever, “For you have died.” He’s not talking physical death, rather a death to the spiritual nature we are born with as human beings. We aren’t sinful people because we sin. No, we sin because our very nature is sinful; we are chained to Sin with no escape. None but Christ. Christ who took our punishment for sin upon Himself. Christ who took Death for us. Christ who broke Sin’s chains transferring us to the Kingdom of Light and Life where our lives are hidden in Him. Death cannot seek us out when our lives are hidden with Him. No evil one can snatch us away. (John 10:28-29) We are hidden deep into His life, if we have been raised. (3:1) One glorious day, when Christ returns in bodily form, the fullness of our lives that has been hidden away will also appear. He IS our life, Sisters. In Him only is life found. (verse 4) In Him we find our being, our very living. (Acts 17:28) When Jesus comes back, whether our physical bodies are dead or alive, (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) He will transform our old bodies to bran-new, glorified ones. (Philippians 3:20-21) Bodies ready to contain the fullness of life Christ has been protectively hiding in Himself and live it out for eternity. Incredible Hope!

3) How are “putting on the new self” and “renewed in knowledge” connected? (verse 10)
God did not set us free from a life of sin and death and place a period at the end with no how-to on what to do next. When we look at the books in the New Testament, it can be easy to see just a list of what we must do to be Christian and what we must not do. But to see that, is to start off all wrong. We must not do something to be Christian. We are made new in Christ, and so we live differently; we live freely. How do we live freely? Ah, now we are at the right starting block! Putting on this new life we have access to as redeemed saints is not something we must do heavy lifting in order to accomplish, rather it begins with a renewing of our minds through the teaching of Scripture. There, in the pages of His Word, the Holy Spirit quickens our hearts, whispers in our ears, and does His work (not ours) of renewing the whole life.

Everyday Application

1) What is meant by “if you have been raised”? (verse 1)
“If” is a big, important question when it comes to our eternity.  To be “raised” is to have died to sin and its control over our hearts as we have surrendered to a new Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. A Ruler who gives delight, freedom, and fullness of life. This new identity comes with new freedoms, rights, and privileges, which are what Paul is passionately espousing in chapters 2 and 3 of Colossians. Are you certain about your eternal destination? How do you know? Have you been raised? If so, Sister, dig in to these two chapters here in Colossians. Whether you’ve been raised to new life for 10 days or 10 years, the Spirit will speak here through His Word. If you’ve been raised, live like it! Walk deeply into the life you’ve been given!

2) How is your life hidden in Christ and how does it appear? (verses 3-4)
Hope is a powerful thing. It’s something each of us need to keep on living, breathing, and doing everyday life. Where is your hope, my friend? New job, new house, finances, or maybe a relationship with your spouse, a friend, or your children? Where is it? That motivator that keeps you going and anchored? When the bottom drops out, what can you still cling to? And when that is gone, what else holds you? Hear me, if what you throw your hands out and clutch in those moments of pure, painful desperation is anything but Christ and the life you have in Him, your anchor will not hold. Only Jesus. Only His life for yours. Only salvation through Him by grace. Only here is life found, tucked away within His life and preserved for eternity to appear at His own glorious appearing. Have you been raised?!

3) How are “putting on the new self” and “renewed in knowledge” connected? (verse 10)
Your work or the Spirit’s? How often do you work at “being” Christian? Going to the right church, not swearing, dressing right, pinning a Bible verse to social media? What if it wasn’t so heavy? What if we began keeping in step with the Spirit by simply sitting with the Savior, learning His ways, and dancing in rhythm to His heartbeat as we read His Words? Suppose we refused to begin a day’s work before we sat still and silent before Him? Paul tells us what will happen. Our minds will be renewed, our hearts will come alive, the Lord will reveal Himself in ever deepening ways as He makes us new. This adventure is not to be missed! Be intentional and choose to let the Spirit renew your mind through His Word!

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with Yoked & Equipped

Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

Digging Deeper Community

Share What You’ve Learned!
Pray Together!
Join us in the GT Facebook Community!

Our Current Study Theme!

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

Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Memorize It!

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

Anchored Day 8 Yoked & Equipped

4 Comments

Read His Words Before Ours!

Matthew 11:28-30
Colossians 3:1-11
John 14:15-17

Anchored, Day 8

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

The following words by John Mark Comer profoundly impacted me when I first heard them shared at a conference I attended in October.

God does not offer escape.
He offers equipment.

Prior to hearing those words from my balcony seat in the midst of thousands of people, I don’t think I realized how often I have prayed for His yoke to be a way of escape from the world, rather than the equipment He provides to make spiritual progress.

Stay with me and let this really sink in to your spirit for a moment: Our spiritual progress is produced by accessing and utilizing the equipment He gives in the midst of the world around us, rather than by avoiding it.

Suddenly, the thought of the yoke is no longer a way to survive scenarios on the way to our eternal destination, but a way for us to thrive in and through them.

So, how does that happen? We understand more when we dig in to a few key things.

First, what is the significance of being “yoked” anyway?
When I asked Jesus to be my personal Lord and remove my sins, I died to my old way of life and began a new one. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!”

Part of this newness is the Holy Spirit now dwelling within me. It is only through the help of the Holy Spirit that I live out this new life. I cannot imagine what this journey would be like without His guidance and empowerment.

It would absolutely be impossible!

He has the strength to bear the burdens of life, and since I am now yoked, or joined, to Him, He provides me the ability to obey and accomplish His good works in my life.
“I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

This “yoking” connection between me and the Spirit of God is far more efficient and successful when I am moving with Him rather than against Him. He spoke the universe into existence, so I am pretty sure that in a power struggle I will not come out on the winning end.

Okay, so what does it look like to move with Him?
How do I cooperate within the yoke? Welcome to Colossians 3: those boundary lines I mentioned a few moments ago.

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
This refers to a mindset change; an intentional shift toward renewing my mind (Romans 12:2) because of the newness afforded me by the Holy Spirit.

As a Christian, I recognize that earth is not my permanent home. I know I will spend eternity in heaven and choosing to hold to a heavenly mindset provides me with an entirely new perspective on life. Hope is instilled within me, in the midst of the hardships, and an endurance to run the race is evident. Instead of looking at the world around me and seeking to see how it impacts me, I find myself looking at the world around me and seeking to see the Lord at work.

Where is He moving?
What is He doing?
How will He use this current frustration for His glory?

In order for this new mindset to be in place, Paul reminds us that the old mindsets need to go. Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed… All are thought processes which lead to actions. Actions that draw us away from the Lord.

Yokes work best when we are moving in tandem rather than fighting to go down separate paths. Not only does working together help us with the movement, it also helps us avoid the pain of learning to follow the hard way.

Paul continues to expound on more heart responses that impede growth and inflict wounds in others if they are allowed to continue:

anger,
wrath,
malice,
slander,
filthy language,
lying…

This list is a powerful one with actions that cause our “yoke” to strain as we push against it.

However, Paul’s list in Galatians 5:22-23 is even more powerful. “But the fruit of the Spirit is

love,
joy,
peace,
patience,
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
gentleness,
and self-control.”

When we move in tandem with the Holy Spirit, working within our yoke to Him,
this fruit blossoms.

He is the only One Who trades anger for joy and peace, malice for kindness, and so much more, when we choose to work with the yoke of the new life we’ve been gifted in Christ. It is through this movement of the Holy Spirit working within us that we can navigate this lifetime, not as escape artists holding out for heaven, but as co-laborers for the kingdom of heaven.

So suit up.
His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

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

Join the GT Community and share your thoughts!

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

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

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

Dwell Day 1 Resting In His Promises

4 Comments

Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 119:1-12
Psalm 119:33-38 
Psalm 119:169-176

Dwell, Day 1

I am not a morning person.
I’m also not a night person.
Anybody else a middle-of-the-day person like me? 

Regardless of my three-cup-of-coffee, loving-the-lunch-time-grind, kinda’ gal,
I intentionally choose quiet, early mornings.
Why?
Time with the Lord before the craziness of the day begins.

I’ve come to cling to these times in the morning when the house is silent, everyone is asleep, and I get to welcome the presence of God into my living room. On days when I choose to sleep in or don’t get that precious time as a kick-starter, it throws me off.

I need
that time; just He and I.

Taking time to sit, meditate, and dwell on Scripture allows the Holy Spirit to speak to us all throughout the beautiful tapestry of the Bible. Consistent time devoted to reading and studying Scripture will equip us to live in purity, victory, and intimacy with God.

As we flip through the Psalms, we watch a transformation happen with the authors. They walk through highs and lows,
poor decisions and the results thereof,
as well as victories and celebrations.
The Psalmists knew the power of God’s word.

The author of Psalm 119 beautifully proclaims truths of God and His character.
With elegant strokes, the psalmist paints an
elaborate picture of the
priceless treasure
that is dwelling daily in God’s Word.
It gives us instructions on how to live a prosperous life devoted to the Lord.

“I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.”
Psalm 119:11

Hiding His word in our heart looks a lot like memorizing Scripture and thinking on it throughout the day. As we memorize more Scripture, hiding it in our hearts, the Holy Spirit will use those verses to remind us of solid truth in desperate moments when we need to hear God.
When we daily put into practice what God’s Word teaches us,
we will soon move from memorizing words on a page
to forming life-changing habits in our everyday life!

In these real-life-moments, those small choices to spend time in His Word
shape our future.

For example, I’ve hidden Psalm 141:3 in my heart:
“Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

The Holy Spirit often reminds me of His ways when that person cuts me off on the highway, is rude to our children in the grocery, or posts that comment on social media.
Ask me how many times I’ve prayed that prayer!   

This daily discipline of studying and dwelling in God’s Word
is crucial for rich, intimate, growing life with God! 

“How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to Your word.”
Psalm 119:9

David was called “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14),
not because he was perfect,
but because he was repentant in his heart.
He longed for the things of God.
He knew the power of God’s word.
He knew that abiding by God’s laws were the pathway of real life.

“Be good to Your servant while I live, that I may obey Your word. Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law.”
Psalm 119:17-18

When we pray, let’s pray God would open our eyes to see as He sees.
His perspective.
His path.
His truth.

“Teach me, Lord, the way of Your decrees, that I may follow it to the end. Give me understanding, so that I may keep Your law and obey it with all of my heart.”
Psalm 119:33-34

Lord, we pray for understanding!
When life doesn’t seem to make sense, teach us to choose to yield to Your wisdom and understanding above our own.

“My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.”
Psalm 119:50

We can rest in God’s promises all the days of our lives because His word says He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)
Therefore, when we find promises from Him in His word,
we can rest assured they are true.

David, shepherd, king, psalmist, and follower of God,
clung to the power of God’s Word.
He “meditated on it day and night.” Psalm 1:2 

For some, morning isn’t the most ideal time to spend with Jesus. If this is you, try making time in the afternoon or evening to get away with God, even if it’s only for a few minutes.  God longs to be found by His children!

Another option is to post notes throughout your house reminding you to pray or memorize Scripture as you’re doing dishes, folding laundry, or getting ready in the morning.

That’s the beautiful thing about a relationship with God: it can happen anywhere!
Let’s be women who cling to Jesus.
Women who dwell deeply with Him through His Word.
Women who rely fully on His faithful, sustaining strength to get us through each day.
Women who rest in His promises!

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

Join the GT Community and share your thoughts!

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

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Dwell 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 Dwell!