flawless

The GT Weekend ~Ten 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) Feelings of disappointment and ‘never enough’ can easily seep into our relationship with our earthly parents. Maybe they are, or were, difficult to please. Maybe you never really felt understood, or perhaps there were so many layers of conflict and communication barriers it was difficult to deeply connect. Maybe your parent has passed and you are left with loss, or perhaps even regret. Relationships are messy and complicated, even healthy ones! Even if you enjoy a rich, close connection with your parent, expectations and feelings of being “boxed in” to a previous role, can feel stifling and awkward. While it can seem natural to place these human failings and struggles onto our relationship with God, He is altogether other. Performance demands have no place. Shame is bound up. Love is unleashed in brilliant colors never before experienced! Where have you placed God in the same category as your parents? Take that to Him and ask Him to reveal His Father heart of love to you in new, vibrant ways!

2) Rebekah shared transparently on Wednesday on how easy it is to fall into the trap of working hard to earn God’s favor. We want Him to smile on us. We want His protection, His blessing, and His favor, so we will work to do things to please Him. There is simply nothing we can do to make ourselves more winsome to God! He hand-crafted us to mirror His own image. He already delights over us, and He cannot possible love us deeper than He already does. Because He is infinitely good, kind, faithful, and true, He adamantly will not love us less. Here’s the kicker, this extravagant love of God is not limited to you or me, unbeliever or church-goer. The Lord views each and every life with the same lavish love, utterly regardless of who we are or what we have done. Who is in your life that you have been hard-hearted towards or stingy with your love? Ask the Lord to shift your perspective, instead seeing them as highly valued and adored as a fellow bearer of God’s own image. How can you begin loving them more like Jesus this week?

3) Cheated. Even saying the word riles our hearts and we begin feeling the need to take up arms against someone who wronged our right or privilege. Take cheating within the context of marriage and the hurt sinks deep very quickly. Maybe you’ve experienced what it is to walk through being cheated on, or maybe you’ve been the cheater. Circumstances are complicated, reasons and justifications abound as quickly as the hurt does, and the trail back to where the distrust began is long and usually involves more than one party in the relationship. God didn’t design us for heartbreak. His perfect intention was for us to find delight in another and sink deep into trust as both people love the other unconditionally. Maybe you find your eyeballs rolling into your head at this point because this description feels so unlikely. Remember the heart of this specific commandment is to point towards a God who will absolutely never be unfaithful and will also always love us unconditionally. Focus on investing in the only relationship that will not leave you hungry for more. What can you do to develop your relationship with God more deeply?

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 2 Peter 1:3-4 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. By these He has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.

Prayer Journal
Father God, I love this passage of Your Word and the truths You speak of here. You have given everything I need for life and godliness simply by leaning deeper and deeper into knowing You! You are unfathomable accessible. Lord, I truly could sit and ponder this extravagant love for the rest of my days and never have plumbed its depths. Your glory and goodness have been made known to me in every moment; You are waiting to be embraced and known more fully by me. Every breath I take is an invitation to know You better! Oh Lord, how distracted I become by focusing on the fleeting things and passions I can see with my eyes or feel in my heart! I will quickly shift my gaze off of You for lesser loves. Yet, Your truth revealed here speaks wonderfully that I do not need to fall prey to these desires to chase the lesser. In You alone is my fullness found. Keep my heart here next to Yours, remind me how sweet Your truth and love are to my soul!

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

Build community, be transparent, and encourage others:
Share how God spoke to you today!
Comment Here or in our Facebook Community Group!

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Pause 3 Day 1 The Majesty

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Pause 3, Day 1

Like nothing you’ve ever experienced. 
Like nothing you’ve ever dreamed.
Indescribable beauty.
Unfathomable wisdom.
All-consuming in every aspect.
Resplendent in glory.
The Majesty

Far from being unknowable, the Majesty longs for us to know Him, love Him, and find our own fullness in Him.
Because of who He is, we are both welcomed and adored.

No, He does not seek after us because He is needy, bored with His own glory, or desperate for relationship.
The Majesty already enjoys perfect community, ensconced in flawless love, and has for all eternity past, present, and future.

So why seek after us?

Neither does the Majesty zealously chase our hearts because we are especially marvelous and would complement His radiance.
Rather, we are fallen, sin-wrecked, putrid in our own sin, and utterly incapable of becoming glorious on our own.

So why give chase?

To be loved for an eternity by the all-knowing, all-power, everywhere-present, radiant Majesty?

The air leaves our lungs at the thought of such a reality.
Because if it is true, then this love fills us with purpose, with identity, and with an insatiable desire to know and love this Majesty.

And here is why He pursues.

No words of ours will ever suffice to enable us to understand Him.
Only His Words through His Spirit.
So, Pause with us GT Sisters, and read His Words Only.

Grab your Bible, a journal and pen,
and open your heart to bask in the presence of the Almighty!

Today's Challenge

1) Read Hebrews 1 and Hebrews 2 and answer these 3 questions in your journal:
a) What do these verses tell me about God and His character?
b) What do these verses tell me about others and the world around me?
c) What do these verses tell me about me and my heart?

2) Close your time by praying for these truths to take root in your heart and for the Holy Spirit to remind you and teach you more about these things today. Be sure to write out any questions you have as you read! If you’d like to send your questions to us, we’d love to study with you!

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
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Hebrews 1

Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways. 2 In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 4 So he became superior to the angels, just as the name he inherited is more excellent than theirs.

5 For to which of the angels did he ever say,
You are my Son;
today I have become your Father,
or again,
I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son?

6 Again, when he] brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
And let all God’s angels worship him.
7 And about the angels he says:
He makes his angels winds,
and his servants a fiery flame,

8 but to the Son:
Your throne, O God,
is forever and ever,
and the scepter of your kingdom
is a scepter of justice.
9 You have loved righteousness
and hated lawlessness;
this is why God, your God,
has anointed you
with the oil of joy
beyond your companions.

10 And:
In the beginning, Lord,
you established the earth,
and the heavens are the works of your hands;
11 they will perish, but you remain.
They will all wear out like clothing;
12 you will roll them up like a cloak,
and they will be changed like clothing.
But you are the same,
and your years will never end.

13 Now to which of the angels has he ever said:
Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool?

14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are going to inherit salvation?

Hebrews 2

For this reason, we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away. 2 For if the message spoken through angels was legally binding and every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment, 3 how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation had its beginning when it was spoken of by the Lord, and it was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 At the same time, God also testified by signs and wonders, various miracles, and distributions of gifts from the Holy Spirit according to his will.

5 For he has not subjected to angels the world to come that we are talking about. 6 But someone somewhere has testified:

What is man that you remember him,
or the son of man that you care for him?
7 You made him lower than the angels
for a short time;
you crowned him with glory and honor
8 and subjected everything under his feet.

For in subjecting everything to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. As it is, we do not yet see everything subjected to him. 9 But we do see Jesus—made lower than the angels for a short time so that by God’s grace he might taste death for everyone—crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death.

10 For in bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God—for whom and through whom all things exist—should make the source of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, 12 saying:
I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters;
I will sing hymns to you in the congregation.

13 Again, I will trust in him.
And again, Here I am with the children God gave me.

14 Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through his death he might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. 16 For it is clear that he does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring. 17 Therefore, he had to be like his brothers and sisters in every way, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in matters pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 For since he himself has suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.

How Does “Pause” Work?
1. Each day, Monday through Friday, for 2 weeks, we will provide you with a simple challenge. Each challenge is designed for you to engage with the Almighty in a deeper way and perhaps in a new way than you have been recently.

2. Having a journal is a must! You’ll want to take notes as you walk this special Journey of Pause.

3. Each week focuses on one or two passage of Scripture and we walk with you as you study and flesh these out for yourself. As you write your thoughts, read His Word, and pray, questions might come up. That’s Perfect! Ask a trusted fellow believer, a pastor, or send us an email as you work through them!

4. Jumping in at the middle? No problem! Here is the entire Journey Theme.

5. Connect with others on Facebook by visiting our GT Community Group!

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 Pause 3 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 Pause 3!

Worship IV, Day 7 Praise You In My Pain: 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 Praise You In My Pain!

The Questions

1) A conjunction at the beginning of a sentence indicates a connection point. What is Paul connecting together in verse 9 when he uses the word “but”?

2) What did God’s answer reveal about His ultimate purpose for Paul’s life, as well as His purpose for ours?

3) What does Paul mean when he says in his weakness he is strong?

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. 10 So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Original Intent

1) A conjunction at the beginning of a sentence indicates a connection point. What is Paul connecting together in verse 9 when he uses the word “but”?
In the previous chapters (10-11), Paul defends his authority as an apostle of Christ by referring to the trials and successes he had experienced. He does not boast for his own glory, but he apparently senses the need to remind the Corinthians of what makes his opinion credible. In the verses at the beginning of the chapter 12, he details a marvelous vision he had received from the Lord. But just in case they think he’s placing himself on some sort of spiritual pedestal, he includes in his account that he was also given a “thorn in the flesh” (verse 7).  Although we are never explicitly told in scripture what Paul is referring to, we can confidently surmise it was some sort of trial he was experiencing in which he had prayed for relief (verse 8). The conjunction “but” connects Paul’s suffering with God’s answer.
Although the phrase “but God” (or something similar) appears many times in the Old and New Testaments to contrast the bad news of sin/suffering with the good news of God’s powerful sovereignty and rescue, “but He” in verse 9 precedes an answer that may not have been the one Paul was expecting to receive. It was however, the answer that led Paul to discover the deeper grace of the God he worshipped.

2) What did God’s answer reveal about His ultimate purpose for Paul’s life, as well as His purpose for ours?
“My grace is sufficient.” Did Paul have to wait days, or even years, to fully grasp the depth of the truth found in these four words? Commentator Albert Barnes gives us some insight into this, reminding us we don’t know the timing between Paul’s suffering, his request, and God’s answer. (studylight.org) What we do know is that at some point Paul accepted God’s answer. As we position these words within the context of his life, we have the benefit of a zoomed-out perspective. The gladness in Paul’s response reveals his heart of worship. He chose a lifetime of thankfulness even though he was bruised and battered by many hardships. (2 Corinthians 4:8-11). In Paul’s letters to the church at Corinth he rehearsed the reality of suffering several times, always emphasizing the sufficiency of God’s grace. (1 Corinthians 1:8-9; 10:13; 15:30-31; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, 11:23-30) His faith in God’s bigger purpose was the very essence of the gospel he had been set apart to proclaim. He wanted all people to know this grace so that God would be worshipped forever! 1 Timothy 2:7-8

3) What does Paul mean when he says in his weakness he is strong?
Paul reminds us many times that the weakness of his frame was meant to amplify the message of God’s grace. “Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us.” I Corinthians 4:8
From Question 1 above, we see Paul connect two things that don’t typically fit together in today’s way of thinking. “Power” and “weakness” would not both be words on someone’s resume. Yet Paul makes it clear that his weakness was the very thing that demonstrated his strength because his strength was from God. Paul’s continual focus on the gospel reveals his heart to communicate that God chose to save sinners because of His grace. It has always been by God’s might and God’s power that we are saved and sustained in grace. Ephesians 2:8-9  Paul accepted God’s answer and he preached it to himself as he suffered. It’s as if verse 9 was the sermon and verse 10 is Paul’s worshipful response. Paul found pleasure in God’s ways! God had shown Himself to be more than enough in every way! 2 Corinthians 9:8

Everyday Application

1) A conjunction at the beginning of a sentence indicates a connection point. What is Paul connecting together in verse 9 when he uses the word “but”?
When we see faith lived out during trials and suffering, we can either walk away angry at God or awed by Him. Paul ultimately chose awe. In the Old Testament story of Job, we find a different story play out. Though Job’s friends attempted to comfort him, they eventually talked too much and their speculative opinions about God’s purpose in suffering was skewed. Their responses contained many inaccuracies about why God allows people to suffer. (Job 42:7)  When we connect Paul’s response with his request (12:8), it indicates he had chosen to rest in the answer (or to some, a non-answer) he was given by God. Paul had asked for relief from his suffering, “but [God] said” instead of healing, His presence and power would be enough to sustain him through it. As we walk through difficult days, we may also call out to God for rescue. The psalmists sure did! (Psalms 40, 69, 80). But if we receive an answer we didn’t hope for, we can pray for the kind of faith response that will eventually lead us to say: Your will, God, not mine.

2) What did God’s answer reveal about His ultimate purpose for Paul’s life, as well as His purpose for ours?
Paul saw his suffering as part of his sanctification (ie: “the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.” Westminster Shorter Catechism). As he came to the realization that he would not be released from this particular burden, Paul had come to know that the power of God’s grace was able to sustain him through it. Walking through the trial would best serve God’s purpose this time instead of being removed from it. God’s foundational purpose for creating us and saving us is that we would reveal His glory so that all would worship Him. Sometimes God’s answer for us is simply: “I AM ENOUGH.” And that answer requires faith and trust on our part.  “And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.” (Hymn, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus)

3) What does Paul mean when he says in his weakness he is strong?
James Boice wrote, “If you understand the two words ‘but God’ they will save your soul. If you recall them daily and live by them, they will transform your life completely.” Often, we find paradox in scripture, two seemingly contrasting ideas. We especially notice it in the gospel message. We die to live. We get low to be raised up. And here, we see that we are strong when we are weak. These two verses (9-10) begin with “but” and end in “I am strong”. Verse 10 says Paul’s pleasure in his sufferings was all due to Christ, His Redeemer. We don’t really know what Paul’s thorn was, but Paul’s thorn itself was never really the point. Given the various possibilities, we can make Paul’s situation applicable today. We can all identify with Paul in some way or another, whether it’s a season of trial or personal physical suffering. Along with Paul, we can pursue a thankful heart. Our worship comes when we make our way to our inner sanctuary, the place of soul rest. “When I tried to understand all this, it seemed hopeless, until I entered God’s sanctuary.” (Psalm 73:16-17)
It’s in that place where God reveals that His grace is more than enough to strengthen and sustain us in our weakest moments!

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with Praise You In My Pain.

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 Worship IV 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.

Character Day 8 A Love Like His

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Read His Words Before Ours!

1 Corinthians 13:1-8
Hosea 2:16-3:6
Hosea 11:8-9
John 3:14-21
1 John 4:7-21

Character, Day 8

Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

I think it’s safe to say that these verses are arguably some of the most well-known Scriptures in the Bible. Individuals who do not even believe in our God have committed some or all of those verses to memory. As a result, many of us may flit right through the familiar passage without allowing the Truth to sink into our hearts and minds. (Raising my hand here.)

That being said, would it be okay with you if we stop for a just a moment to go over those words together again? I’m challenging us to read the passage out loud, but this time, let’s each insert our own name every time the word “love” appears. (Merry is patient, Merry is kind. Merry does not envy…etc.)

Just between us…did you try to justify yourself?
I did.

Maybe for you, that went like…
I mean, I’m mostly patient.
I rarely envy others.
I don’t keep a record of wrongs…when I receive the apology they owed me.
I don’t boast. There’s nothing wrong with feeling proud of your work.
I’m not irritable. I’m just tired of feeling like no one listens to me.
I’m not self-seeking. I deserve this. I’ve been taking the back seat long enough.
I still love _____________. I just don’t like him/her.

We are all in that boat, Sister.
We are each absolutely incapable of that kind of love.

Truth? We cannot even fathom a love like that. Sometimes we forget that. We think we can love others through our own might or our own resolutions…then wonder why we fail miserably and relationships become even more broken than they were before we tried.
But then, He knows that, because He is love.

Perfect, flawless, abiding Love.
And He always has been.

Someone close to me once said, “I love Jesus, I really do. I believe that He is the Son of God and that He is my Savior. It’s God that I have a problem with. Look at the Old Testament. Look at all the times He allowed entire cities to be wiped out. Look at all the times He is angry and wrathful. How am I supposed to run to someone like that?”

If we’re honest, most of us have probably wrestled with reconciling the seemingly conflicting portrayal of God’s love in different spaces in the Bible at one point or another.

What my friend didn’t understand is that God has always been pursuing us.
Since the beginning of Creation, He has been in determined, intentional, passionate pursuit of us. Read His words about His people…about us. About you, Sister. I dare you to read this and not be overcome by His great love for you.
(Scripture is linked, these are my paraphrases.)

Come to Me, pour out everything in your heart. Be broken before Me, for I am gracious and compassionate. (Joel 2:12)

I will speak to her tenderly. I’ll persuade her to come with Me to a quiet place. I will erase the memory of every other idol, every other lover from her mind. I will take their names from her lips and I will seal her as mine forever, in all righteousness, justice, love and compassion. And I will make Myself known to her. (Hosea 2:14-20)

I’ve always loved you. I brought you out of slavery, out of shackles. I taught you to walk. I held your hand and kept you steady when you couldn’t stand on your own. I led you in love, never fear or condemnation. I gently healed you, like one who eases the painful bit from a worn and weary horse’s mouth. How could I give you up? How could I ever surrender you to another? (Hosea 11:1-8)

Can you read those words without weeping?
Read the Scriptures and know in your deepest parts that they are for you, Sister.
The God of the Old and New Testament feels those things for you.
Corporately for all of His people? YES!
Personally for you and me? YES!
Not because of you, or anything you can give Him or do for Him, but
because of Who He Is.

Sisters, we are so broken.
No amount of self-justification, legalism, desire, intention or trying
will ever set things right within us.

Part of that brokenness means that we are unable to comprehend the shift that happened when sin entered the world. We struggle to grasp that Jesus was not God’s knee-jerk reaction to our sin in order to rescue us.

His plan was always ever Jesus.
The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament.
His righteous anger, His perfect justice, His passionate pursuit of us, His fullness embodied in Jesus Christ sent to defeat death, wake us to life, then returned to glory that He might send His own Spirit to be that love to us and in us and through us!

One plan, One redemption, One God whose love is on display Genesis to Revelation and in the very middle of our everyday!

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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 Character 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 Character!

Beauty Day 4
Flawless: Digging Deeper

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Curious as to why we Dig Deeper?
Here’s Why! 

The Passage

Looking for yesterday’s Journey Post? Check out Flawless!

Matthew 11:28-30 English Standard Version (ESV)

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

My Questions

1) What is the word “yoke” referring to?

2) What is causing Christ’s original audience to be heavy laden?

3) How does Jesus’s yoke give our souls rest?

The Tools

A trip to www.studylight.org is in order here.
We will get super cozy with this site as we study Scripture together!
Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom!
It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

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. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage?
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 :-))

The Findings for Original Intent

1) The Greek word translated “yoke” is zygós. A Bible dictionary tells us that it can either mean a literal yoke, like one a pair of oxen would wear, or it can figuratively represent a heavy burden. Obviously, the figurative meaning is the one used here. Further study of the word “yoke” tells us that it was a common Jewish metaphor for the obligation to the service of the law.
2) The Old Testament law was a good thing—given to the people to show God’s character and point out the seriousness of sin. But over the years, the Pharisees had become legalistic, requiring not only adherence to the OT law, but adding on their own made-up rules and traditions, and completely missing God’s heart in the process. Check out a cross-reference, Matthew 23:4: “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,[a] and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.” The Pharisees were Israel’s teachers, and they were teaching the people only that they could never measure up. What a heavy burden!
3) Christ tells us to come to Him, to take His yoke, and to learn from Him. The phrase “come to me” is used multiple times in the gospels, and is a call to faith in Christ. By trusting Christ for salvation, we take on Christ’s yoke—we begin to follow His commands. Cross-references bring us to 1 John 5:3: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” We can cease our striving, we can let go of the burden of perfection; we can find rest for our souls, when we realize that the work of salvation has been done for us! It’s not up to us to be “good enough” in Christ!

Some Applications for Our Everyday Lives

1) The yoke of the Pharisees was one of obligation. Christ’s yoke is one of joyful relief. Feeling heavy guilt with no way to overcome it? Those are lies from the Enemy! The Holy Spirit convicts our hearts while drawing us in to His embrace of love, fueling us with the power we need to honor Him! Praise God for providing a way for us to be saved and have our burden lifted! Identify some guilty lies you’ve been believing and run to the Father of Grace and Truth.

2) Even after we have trusted Christ for salvation, we can fall into the trap of adding to the gospel. We pile extra requirements on ourselves (sometimes due to others’ expectations) that rob us of the rest and joy of knowing we are saved through faith, apart from works. Or it can even look like judging other believers / non-believers according to a personal standard or ideal. This is legalism. Lord, help me rid myself of anything in my life that I am adding to the gospel both for myself and others.

3) Although these verses don’t promise that Jesus will make all of my problems go away, they do promise that I can find rest for my soul when I look to Him. Am I spending more time looking at my problems, my shortcomings, my flaws, my “have-to’s” than I am looking to Jesus and learning from Him? If so, what steps can I take to remedy that? Choose one area and pray over it, deciding to give it wholly to Christ!

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Beauty Day 3
Flawless

3 Comments

Read His Words Before Ours!

Matthew 11:28-30
Psalms 23:1-6
Isaiah 40:6-8
Isaiah 40:21-31
Psalms 139:13-18

flawlessFlawless. 
I don’t know about you, but when I hear that word, my thoughts are instantly drawn to my physical attributes.  Maybe it’s because I’m a photographer, and so much of my job is portraying others in the best possible light.

Maybe it’s the selfie-stick culture that we live in.

Or maybe it is because I’m human.

Whatever the reason, rather than being drawn to character traits, admirable choices, honesty, selflessness, joy, or any other intangible attribute, my mind instead turns to the physical.

My skin tone.  Blemishes.  My weight.  The tiny laugh lines that have begun to form around my eyes.  My too-big nose.  The chin I wish was more slim.  The few gray hairs that I find from time to time.  The way one of my eyes looks bigger than the other.  I am currently in my third trimester, so I can’t even see my feet right now, but I know they are rough and not very pretty.
I have recently realized that the less quality time I spend with God, the more I begin to focus on my physical attributes.
I don’t generally consider myself to be an insecure person, but lately I am so easily convinced that I’m not (thin enough, young enough, outgoing enough, pretty enough…)  And I know that directly coincides with the pace our lives have set lately and that I have not been making as much time for God lately.

I’m not (and never will be) flawless.
Yet so easily I forget that I’m not called to be flawless.
I’m called to be humble.
Broken.
Loving.
Kind.
Patient.
Obedient.
Faithful.
Not flawless.

Battling the three enemies of our beauty is a challenge best accomplished when we turn our gaze to Christ, His word, and how He views us instead of our own perspective.

We are each fearfully and wonderfully made.
God doesn’t make us haphazardly.
He takes great care when designing each of us, and He makes no mistakes.
The little wrinkles and gray hairs that trouble me?  He placed them there as He bestowed wisdom and discernment upon me.
My eyes? He gave them to me so I could see others with His vision and heart.

And the more time I spend with Him, the more He shares His heart with me.
How He sees me.  
His heart for others.
And He shapes my heart to mirror His.
I would much rather reflect Him than my own intentions!

As I write this, tomorrow is the seventh anniversary of my wedding to my husband.  This past weekend, we were blessed to go on a date night, and I dressed up and wore full makeup for the first time in…  I honestly couldn’t tell you how long!  With two toddlers and a new Tiny that will arrive soon, I do not always get the chance to style my hair or apply full makeup.  (Let’s be honest.  If I make it out of the house with children fed, all our belongings in tow and without some form of bodily excrement on me I feel like it’s a win.)  I was so excited to spend some alone time with my husband – it was ridiculous!  It took us a while to figure out what to do, and we spent the entire drive there talking – without interruptions!  It’s amazing to me how much having one’s undivided attention will do for a relationship.  Even if it’s just one date night every few months.

I can’t help but recognize that the same is true in my relationship with God.  When I fail to plan and make time to spend in prayer and listening to Him, my spirit hungers for that fulfillment.  Peace.  Joy.
I miss basking in His fullness.
Of course, He is always there, but when I am not making the commitment to just be present, my spirit is affected.  I hunger for those things, and when I am not spiritually fed I unintentionally find myself searching for validation and fulfillment elsewhere.
And this world does not have the things that will satisfy me.  

No matter how busy, hectic and overwhelming life can be, I need to focus on spending time resting in Him.  He is the only One that can restore my soul and satisfy my spirit, and His thoughts about me are far more precious than I can even comprehend.

Regardless of what the world may tell me, He is the only One that is flawless.

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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 Beauty 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 Beauty!