honesty

Worship XI Day 11 Pe & Tsade

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Worship XI Day 11 Pe & Tsade

Christine Wood

June 12, 2023

Faith,Genuine,Hope,Love

Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 119:129-144
Matthew 16:24–27
Lamentations 3:22–33
Psalm 139

Good morning, Lord.
It’s me.

It’s early. The house is quiet as I watch the colours of the sky brighten.
Its beauty is breathtaking. 

Another new day. 
Another day to serve You, to walk with You and taste Your goodness. (Psalm 34:8) 

Another day to delight in the beauty of Your creation and enjoy the gifts which You have filled my life. (Lamentations 3:22–24)
Thank you, Lord.

“Your decrees are wondrous; 
therefore I obey them. 
The revelation of Your words brings light 
and gives understanding to the inexperienced. 
I open my mouth and pant
because I long for Your commands.”
(Psalm 119:129-131)

I don’t deserve the blessed life I live. So many struggle through childhood without faith; without knowing You. Thank you for the legacy of faith You placed before me. I am overwhelmed with gratitude; You are so kind. Your Word has been a hedge of protection around me. (Psalm 139:5) You were the light on my path long before I knew any other path existed. (Psalm 23:3)

“Turn to me and be gracious to me, 
as is your practice toward those who love your name. 
Make my steps steady through your promise; 
don’t let any sin dominate me. 
Redeem me from human oppression, 
and I will keep your precepts.”
(Psalm 119:132-134)

Oh, God. I’m so sorry. I’ve done it again. (Psalm 51:2–3) I really meant to be fully present, here in these quiet moments with You. I was going to focus. Now, here I am again. I’ve lost precious minutes scrolling, watching furniture renovations and cake decorating. I don’t even like cake decorating! 

How could I be so distracted? 

Yet, You are here inside every moment. The ones I press into, and the ones I neglect. Your presence is just as close, whether I acknowledge You or not. Whether I invite You or not. You are here (Psalm 139:5-8), and You will continue to be here every time I turn away from the world long enough to notice.

“Make your face shine on your servant,
and teach me Your statutes.
My eyes pour out streams of tears
because people do not follow Your instruction.”
(Psalm 119:135-136)

God, I feel like my heart is breaking and I am completely helpless. I can hardly bear to watch the news. How can people hurt each other so? Can’t they see that hate only makes things worse? It seems like evil is thriving, while the Godly wilt. (Ecclesiastes 7:15) Where do I go with all the pain in my heart? The unanswered prayers, the unhealed sickness, those grieving without comfort. (Psalm 13:1–2) God, are You still here?

“You are righteous, Lord, 
and Your judgments are just. 
The decrees You issue are righteous 
and altogether trustworthy.
My anger overwhelms me 
because my foes forget Your words.”
(Psalm 119:137-139) 

The world is such a cruel place for so many, and yet, there is kindness and generosity and hope amongst all the pain. . . because of You. You sneak in and bind up the brokenness while the battle rages outside. You go into dark places and shine light. (John 8:12) You stand up in storms and demand peace. (Mark 4:39) You stare into the eyes of the guilty and extend mercy. (Luke 7:48–50) You bring hope when there is only despair. (Romans 15:13) You bring life where there is only death. (John 10:10)

“Your word is completely pure, 
and your servant loves it.
I am insignificant and despised, 
but I do not forget your precepts.”
(Psalm 119:140-141)

Oh, my God, I lift my feeble prayer to You. I long to have more confidence in You, but there are still days when I forget Your power and rely on myself. I do believe; help me with my unbelief. (Mark 9:24) I know you are good. Help me to experience Your goodness. You are love, and You command me to love. God, please help me to love. (John 13:34–35)

“Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, 
and Your instruction is true.
Trouble and distress have overtaken me, 
but Your commands are my delight.
Your decrees are righteous forever. 
Give me understanding, and I will live.”
(Psalm 119:142-144)

Lead me in Your ways today, Lord. Keep me from wandering, distracted, away from the path You have laid. (Psalm 16:11) May I follow You more closely (Matthew 16:24), love You more dearly (Matthew 22:37), obey You more willingly (John 14:15), and trust You more fully.
Amen.

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honesty,journal,love,praise,Real,worship
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Worship XI Day 12
Digging Deeper

I am thankful that I have scripture ready in my mind for when trouble arises. And that happens often. His Word gives light to every situation.

My husband purchased a light which he attached to my cane so that in the night when I rise, I can see where I am going. It is motion detected so that as soon as I reach out and grab my cane, the light comes on. God’s Word is like this (if we have it memorized).

When in the dark of a trial, all we need to do is reach out and His Word lights our way! What practical things do you find in the Word of God?
Dig Deeper!

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Pause IV Day 2 Invitation To Be Astounded

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Pause IV, Day 2

I absolutely love the Lord’s response to Habakkuk! The Lord God, who sees all, and
knows all, and hears all, and is always continuously present, was not the least bit offended by Habakkuk’s angry outrage at Yahweh’s seeming disinterest.

Instead of reacting with arrogant wrath, the perfect God responds with a grand invitation.
Look around you, Habakkuk, wonder at what’s going on, prepare to be utterly astounded!

The Lord knows Habakkuk doesn’t understand the “why” behind Israel’s tragic, sinful rebellion, or more so, why the Lord hasn’t fixed everything yet. The Lord is patient, inviting Habakkuk to step back and remember only Yahweh is God. He is in control, He holds the end game victory, and the battle will be waged in His way.

Yes, the means by which God would bring His just righteousness upon Israel was going to shock poor Habakkuk, leaving him wrestling internally. But God, undeterred, would continue to build His kingdom and pave the way for the future coming of redemption through His Son Jesus.

Habakkuk brought the fullness of his honesty before the Lord and was answered with grace. If you knew the Lord would respond the same to you, what would you bring?

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

Today's Challenge

1) Pull out your Bible and read Habakkuk 1 fully through 2 times. Then focus in on reading verse 5 several times through. Go slow. Emphasis different words each time you read it. Savor the message, and pray as you read it. Write out all of verse 5 in your journal.

2) Each time you re-read verse 5, write down everything that pops out at you, makes you curious, or wonder “why?”. When you’re finished, go back through and you’ll be amazed at the new things the Spirit is leading you into knowing about Him!

3) Pay special attention to how the Lord demonstrated gracious kindness in His response to Habakkuk. Be reminded, and encouraged, that the Lord’s ways and His goals, are not the ones we would think of or choose, but His loving pursuit of us never changes.

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Habakkuk 1

The pronouncement that the prophet Habakkuk saw.
2 How long, Lord, must I call for help
and you do not listen
or cry out to you about violence
and you do not save?
3 Why do you force me to look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Oppression and violence are right in front of me.
Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates.
4 This is why the law is ineffective
and justice never emerges.
For the wicked restrict the righteous;
therefore, justice comes out perverted.

God’s First Answer
5 Look at the nations and observe—
be utterly astounded!
For I am doing something in your days
that you will not believe
when you hear about it.
6 Look! I am raising up the Chaldeans,
that bitter, impetuous nation
that marches across the earth’s open spaces
to seize territories not its own.
7 They are fierce and terrifying;
their views of justice and sovereignty
stem from themselves.
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards
and more fierce than wolves of the night.
Their horsemen charge ahead;
their horsemen come from distant lands.
They fly like eagles, swooping to devour.
9 All of them come to do violence;
their faces are set in determination.
They gather prisoners like sand.
10 They mock kings,
and rulers are a joke to them.
They laugh at every fortress
and build siege ramps to capture it.
11 Then they sweep by like the wind
and pass through.
They are guilty; their strength is their god.


Habakkuk’s Second Prayer
12 Are you not from eternity, Lord my God?
My Holy One, you will not die.
Lord, you appointed them to execute judgment;
my Rock, you destined them to punish us.
13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil,
and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
So why do you tolerate those who are treacherous?
Why are you silent
while one who is wicked swallows up
one who is more righteous than himself?
14 You have made mankind
like the fish of the sea,
like marine creatures that have no ruler.
15 The Chaldeans pull them all up with a hook,
catch them in their dragnet,
and gather them in their fishing net;
that is why they are glad and rejoice.
16 That is why they sacrifice to their dragnet
and burn incense to their fishing net,
for by these things their portion is rich
and their food plentiful.
17 Will they therefore empty their net
and continually slaughter nations without mercy?

How Does “Pause” Work?
1. Each day, Monday through Friday, for 3 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 IV 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 IV!

Ten Day 8 Worth Of One

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Exodus 20:13
Genesis 1:26-27
Exodus 21:22-25

Ten, Day 8

Be honest, sister.
Have you ever tried to earn God’s favor?

I’ll be the first to admit I have!

Entrapped in a multi- year-long season of legalism, I believed the Ten Commandments, as well as God’s instruction to the church in the New Testament, were provided as means for pleasing God with our behavior . . . to earn His favor. I subconsciously viewed my obedience as a means to control God. If I obeyed His commands, then surely God would love and protect me and no harm would come my way . . . right?

Wrong.
My limited perspective was nearsighted and false. As I have grown in my understanding of the Word, I’ve learned the commands of God reflect His character. They reveal His nature, His righteousness, His love, His goodness, and His desire for us to be holy, as He is holy. As we live in obedience to Him out of a heart of gratitude for His glorious gospel, we are transformed into His image and reflect Him to the watching world.

In our series on the Ten Commandments, we’ve reached God’s commandment, “Do not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Most everyone agrees murder is wrong, but have you ever pondered why? What makes murder so grievous? Today, we’ll unpack why murder is such an affront to the heart and nature of God.

Our conversation starts at the beginning of time, in the garden of Eden. As God created mankind, He proclaimed,
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)

We see the result of this proclamation in the very next verse:
“So God created man in his own image;
He created him in the image of God;
He created them male and female.” (Genesis 1:27)

This is precisely why murder so terrible; when someone murders a fellow human being, they are snuffing out the life of an image-bearer of God Himself.

The sacred nature of human life is further illustrated in this Levitical law:
“When men get in a fight and hit a pregnant woman so that her children are born prematurely but there is no injury, the one who hit her must be fined as the woman’s husband demands from him, and he must pay according to judicial assessment.  If there is an injury, then you must give life for life,  eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,  burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound.” (Exodus 21:22-25)

This law clearly illustrates the importance God places on a human life,
even the smallest and most vulnerable!

For believers living after Jesus’ death and resurrection, who live everyday with the gift of the Holy Spirit within us, this commandment takes on new meaning and a higher level of accountability. As Jesus teaches in Matthew 5, our abstention from murder should extend to unrighteous anger, insults, and denigrating or slanderous speech.

In fact, Scripture explains, such treatment of a fellow image-bearer reveals a heart of hatred. Hatred of another human, even our enemies, stands in direct opposition to the example set by Jesus’ sacrificial death.

Instead, Jesus calls us to love our enemies and offers us a living demonstration: even in the midst of His agony on the cross, He didn’t spew judgement or hatred. His heart of mercy triumphed over the pain of injustice His body suffered as He interceded for His tormentors.

“Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

God’s command to preserve life, working in concert with the other passages we’ve discussed, creates a beautiful picture of the Father’s fierce heart of love for His children. The command truly comes alive and we see, for perhaps the first time, just how highly God esteems us as His creations. We bear the image, the breath, and the Spirit of Almighty God. Therefore, rather than taking a life, we are called to willingly lay down our own lives, in gratitude and love for the One who gave Himself to rescue us.

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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 Ten 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 Ten!

The GT Weekend! Misunderstood 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) The thought of letting Jesus and His grace carry us through difficult times can make us break out in hives. Why is that? What part of that idea makes you uncomfortable? Think through the practical reality of letting Jesus cover your difficulty; what does that look like? If you love that aspect of the nature of God, tell Him! Challenge yourself to spend some time reading some psalms and then writing your own as you rejoice in the God who loves to sustain you!

2) There might be some disparity between God’s perspective of what’s good for you and what you wish He was giving. From Scripture, we know that He will never leave us and that He works all things in the most surprising, sovereign way.  Yet we still doubt. When have you doubted God had something good planned for you? What do you think is the “good” God ultimately wants for you to experience?

3) We are easily blind to our own sin. Ask the Holy Spirit to assess your heart and determine where there is un-repented sin. Who in your life can keep you accountable to living a life worthy of the Gospel? Take a (wise) risk and open up to your accountability partner and tell them the truth of your life. Watch the Lord work mightily in your life as you take a step of vulnerability. True, deep community is the perfect breeding ground for intimate relationship with God.

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 Philippians 2:3-8 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Prayer Journal
Father, You’ve given Your Word to guide my heart to Yours. It is my measuring stick for life and You’ve provided a way for me to see my need for a Savior. In your Word, I see Your redemptive plan in sending Jesus and how I can share that Good News with others. Sometimes I complicate it, Lord, by measuring myself to others. Forgive me when I don’t value others above myself, or when I put my interests first. You’ve shown me time and time again that the condition of the heart is more important than the outward display of religion. Change my heart to reflect Yours, Lord.

I often forget, Father, that I am not on this Earth to live an easy, comfortable life. That is a dangerous lie from the enemy. You have promised good plans for my life, regardless of my situation. Thank you, Father, for your wisdom in designing us to walk through the fire with You leading the way. Let us depend on you more and more each day!

Worship Through Community

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