Judgement

Pause IV Day 10 Exposing Imposters

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Pause IV, Day 10

As we studied yesterday, we can replace “him” and “you” with “Chaldeans” or “Babylonians Empire” in verses 15-20 as we continue reading of the wicked exploits and motivations of this nation.

With graphic language, verse 15 warns the Babylonians of their pride in their own strength to bring their wrath down upon Israel. While it was accurate they would expose Israel’s sin by taking them into captivity, they would not escape judgement themselves. The Lord assures Habakkuk in verse 16 of His coming wrath against Babylon to expose their sin as well. Persian/Lebanon rulers would overtake Babylon and conquer it swiftly, bringing the Lord’s judgement against them. (verse 17)

Verses 18-20 serve as a beautifully poetic interlude to bridge between God’s righteous ruling against sin and His perpetual, magnificent glory. The mere presence of the glory of the Lord, the One True God, reveals how laughably inept our own strength, our own idols, and our own self-righteousness are in comparison to His magnificence.  How ludicrous it is to address a log of wood, commanding it to speak. Yet, when we elevate anything, read a n y t h i n g, above the rightful position of authority held by the Lord God in our lives, we are bowing our hearts to idols as impotent as blocks of wood.

What fills your hands, your time, your passion, your thoughts? What do you protect, and are quick to defend? These things threaten to be our own idols! Even if they are good and important things, or people, they all make for a very bad Sovereign Lord. Things, and even people, will never love us back as the Lord loves us.

Allow the glory of the Lord to expose the imposter idols in your life. Be still before Him, acknowledging His mighty power, and realigning your life in worship to Him!

Today's Invitation

1) Read Habakkuk 2:15-20,  then re-read verses 18-20 out loud today twice. Slowly. Linger over those words that stick out to you, slowing and listening as God’s Spirit speaks to your heart! Write out verse 20 on a notecard and place it somewhere you won’t miss its message. Take time to memorize it over the weekend!

2) This weekend, we have a new hand-crafted Spotify playlist! Put this playlist on repeat this weekend and be reminded of the rich truths God has shown you this week in Pause! Know that we prayed for you as we prepared this study!

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Habakkuk 2:15-20

Woe to him who gives his neighbors drink,
pouring out your wrath
and even making them drunk,
in order to look at their nakedness!
16 You will be filled with disgrace instead of glory.
You also—drink,
and expose your uncircumcision!
The cup in the Lord’s right hand
will come around to you,
and utter disgrace will cover your glory.
17 For your violence against Lebanon
will overwhelm you;
the destruction of animals will terrify you
because of your human bloodshed and violence
against lands, cities, and all who live in them.

18 What use is a carved idol
after its craftsman carves it?
It is only a cast image, a teacher of lies.
For the one who crafts its shape trusts in it
and makes worthless idols that cannot speak.
19 Woe to him who says to wood: Wake up!
or to mute stone: Come alive!
Can it teach?
Look! It may be plated with gold and silver,
yet there is no breath in it at all.
20 But the Lord is in his holy temple;
let the whole earth
be silent in his presence.

How Does “Pause” Work?
1.Each day, Monday through Friday, for 3 weeks, we will provide you with an invitation to get away with the Savior. Each one 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 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 Pause IV!

Sketched VIII Day 12 Giver Of Sight: 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 Giver Of Sight!

The Questions

1) Why did Jesus lead the blind man away from the village for his healing? (verse 23)

2) Why did the man’s healing come in phases?

3) Why did Jesus warn the man to not even enter the village after his healing? (verse 26)

Mark 8:22-26

22 They came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village. Spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”

24 He looked up and said, “I see people—they look like trees walking.”

25 Again Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes. The man looked intently and his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly. 26 Then he sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

Original Intent

1) Why did Jesus lead the blind man away from the village for his healing? (verse 23)
If we rewind two chapters back to Mark 6 we see Jesus sending the disciples out in pairs to preach and heal. Jesus gave His followers power over demons, the ability to heal the sick, and the instruction to call the Israelites to repentance, all for the sake of spreading the kingdom of God. Jesus also included a warning that if any place would not receive, or listen to the message, then the disciples were to shake the dust from their feet as a testimony against that place. (Mark 6:7-11) In Matthew 11:16-24, Jesus curses the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum for their consistent rejection of truth and persistent unbelief. “Then He began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done because they did not repent. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” (Matthew 11:20-21) As a result of their spiritual blindness and hearts dull of hearing truth, the village of Bethsaida was no longer allowed to experience the fullness of God. They had firmly chosen unrepentance as their stance towards God. Could this have been the reason the blind man’s friends begged Jesus to touch him? Even in the midst of judgment, God still had mercy and led the blind man out of the village to restore his sight.

2) Why did the man’s healing come in phases?
The first stage of the blind man’s healing took place when Jesus physically removed him from the village of unbelief (Bethsaida). The second part took place when Jesus did an unexpected thing. “When He had spit on his eyes and laid His hands on him, He asked him, ‘do you see anything?’” (Mark 8:23) The physical blindness of the man was much like the spiritual blindness of the disciples. Although they were witnesses, and took part in the miracles of Jesus, there was still a veil covering their spiritual eyes. They could not comprehend the full scope of who Jesus really was, and is, as God. After spitting and laying hands on the man, the blind man responded that he could only see partially. His condition mirrored the disciples’ partial spiritual blindness. In fact, earlier in the chapter, Jesus had just fed the 4,000 and warned the disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees. The disciples thought He was talking about physical bread, and frustrated, Jesus responded, “Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?” (Mark 8:17-18) Often, spiritual understanding is the cure for spiritual blindness. (Mark 8:21) As the man’s blindness began to lift, Jesus completed the healing by laying hands on him one more time. “His sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.” In fact, after this healing, Peter’s spiritual sight was made new, and he finally saw Jesus clearly for who He was as the Son of the Living God. (Mark 8:29)

3) Why did Jesus warn the man to not even enter the village after his healing? (verse 26)
Paul posed an interesting question in Romans 6:1-2, “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” Once Jesus called the blind man out of the place of sin and unbelief, there is no going back to the place of blindness. Once the blind man’s sight had been restored, Jesus set him on a new path of renewal. There were instances where Jesus warned people to go and sin no more like the woman caught in the act of adultery John 8:3-11 or the invalid at the Pool of Bethesda John 5:1-16. In the case of the blind man, the wrath of God was resting on the village of Bethsaida due to the corporate sin of unbelief. Unbelief is an affront to God’s character because the premise is that God is a liar, He will not perform according to His word. God has declared that if anyone is to approach His throne, that person must first acknowledge that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. “For without faith it is impossible to please God” and, “for the just shall live by faith.” (Hebrews 11:6, Hebrews 10:38)

Everyday Application

1) Why did Jesus lead the blind man away from the village for his healing? (verse 23)
The book of Mark is full of references to Jesus wandering desolate places to be alone and to receive refreshing from His Father. In many ways, God will take us on paths that lead us away from our villages. Sometimes, our “villages” where we spend our most time are places where faith dies, where we are pulled away from the Lord because the voice of the “crowd culture” is so deafening. In order to do a new thing, and usher in times of refreshing, the Lord will lead us down lonely and isolating paths away from the crowds, just as He did with the blind man in Mark’s narrative. In Exodus, when Yahweh led the Israelites into the wilderness and met them on the mountain, He initially wanted to converse with the entire congregation at one time. Unfortunately, the crowd was frightened and asked Moses to be their representative instead. So, Moses and God conversed on the mountaintop for 40 days. “The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.” (Exodus 20:21) Sometimes the clearest place to find God is in the midst of thick darkness. When life is chaotic and uncertain, solitude is the surest place to find God. To know Him, and the fellowship of His sufferings, requires an intimacy that cannot be found in peace and security wrapped around material things or even other relationships. Instead, God’s peace is found when you leave what you have known to follow Him. “He who dwells in the SECRET place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalms 91:1) The place of intimate healing is often found in the desolate corners of life.

2) Why did the man’s healing come in phases?
Paul said that “we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end.” (1 Corinthians 13:8-10) Until we come to the point of perfect understanding in Heaven, some things remain a mystery. I suppose that not being able to see everything clearly can be one of the most frustrating things about the faith walk. I’m sure the blind man was wondering why Jesus couldn’t just heal him on the spot in the village. I’m really sure the blind man was wondering why Jesus spit on his eye! At that point, I’m not sure I would have had the faith to see what Jesus would do next. There have been many times when I asked God to come through at a certain time and place and He didn’t. Often, God doesn’t move and act on our time, or in the way we imagine to be best. Sometimes, He takes the long route and gradually we discover His “why” as we keep walking forward and trusting Him. Like a child, the Lord teaches us heavenly precepts at the level where we are. “Who is he trying to teach? Who is he trying to instruct? Infants just weaned from milk? Babies removed from the breast? “Law after law, law after law, line after line, line after line, a little here, a little there.” (Isaiah 28:9-10) You’re not going to find your growth in the place of comfort! For many of us, these have been some of the most painful and uncertain times we have ever experienced. But in this midst of all that uncertainty, the Great God is preparing you for a better place. In this place, you will find your healing!

3) Why did Jesus warn the man to not even enter the village after his healing? (verse 26)
Have you ever left a toxic relationship before? It took a really long time for me to heal from the effects of a bad relationship, yet there is still the haunting question of what if I tried again? Your brain, and wise friends, tell you not to return because you will be worse off than you before. Sometimes people will return to what was comfortable and familiar, even if it will put them back into bondage. Even the Israelites wanted to go back to slavery because walking by faith in the desert with God required surrendering control. Lot’s family was warned to not return to sin-filled Sodom, yet Lot’s wife still looked back and was instantly punished for it. Sin will always beckon you to return like a siren’s song. Fear and doubt will tell you to continue doing what were familiar with, even if it disobeys God. At some point, we all have to choose not to go back to our personal “Egypts” and “Bethsaidas”. Instead, we can make the same choice as Paul, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Philippians 3:7-8)

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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

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

Digging Deeper Community

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Our Current Study Theme!

This is Sketched VIII Week Three!
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Why Dig Deeper?

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

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

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

Study Tools

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

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

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

Memorize It!

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Focus Day 13 Me Or You?

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Read His Words Before Ours!

James 5:7-12
Proverbs 8:1-21
John 15:9-17

“Who does she think she is spouting off her credentials as if the rest of us aren’t qualified too? That’s not a great way to

Focus, Day 13

make friends in a new company!”

Whenever she wasn’t traveling and was in the office, I had this same thought, but then the Lord reminded me of a passage in Matthew 7.  Jesus is teaching to stop judging “her” for the splinter in “her” eye and worry about the giant plank in our own.
What was my plank?
Judging her for something I had done months early when I transferred to the department.

Then recently,  I judged a friend for getting into some serious trouble. Oh, I was high on my horse, passing out judgement like it was free candy day.
God’s words in John 15:17 crashed over me, “Love one another.”

What was my problem?
Why was I doing these things?

I was looking at others through my own lens.
Unfortunately, I still do that much too often. It’s pretty easy for us to get caught up in our own standards of “I would never”,
“That’s not a good way to handle things”, or even
“That’s not very godly or Christ-like.”

We pass our judgement and think nothing of it.
But what about when their “I would never” is the very thing we struggle with?
What if the way we would handle that situation isn’t what’s best for them?
Suppose we worried about our own areas for growth instead of focusing on theirs?

We forget that God never told us to judge others with condemnation because He doesn’t condemn. (Romans 8:1) In fact, He says “Do not judge.” Not just once, but over and over, in places like Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37 and James 4:12. This kind of judgment of one another comes from a heart of jealousy, competition, arrogance, and self-righteousness.
All of which are in stark contrast to God’s character. (Note that we aren’t talking about righteous, brotherly/sisterly confrontation of sin, which we are most definitely called to do!)

James doesn’t only call out believers for this arrogant judging though, He doesn’t want us complaining about each other either. (James 5:9, James 4:11, 1 Peter 4:9) If you think about it, when we judge, are we not also complaining about that person’s imperfect nature?
But aren’t we all imperfect here on earth? This was Jesus’ point!

Instead of judging others we should be doing something else God commands.
Love.
So how do we go from judging to loving?

When God convicted me about judging my friend, I felt nudged to pray for her.
I hadn’t done the most loving thing you can do for someone — pray.
It cost me just a few minutes, but changed my entire perspective.

If given the opportunity, sharing your struggle with the same or similar thing moves you from self-righteousness to caring and understanding. Sharing verses of encouragement is also a very practical way to love instead of judge. You never know how much one verse can give someone just enough hope for that moment, day, or journey.

These loving acts are also acts of wisdom.
Proverbs 8 describes the importance of wisdom and the rewards for living wisely, which includes loving others without condemnation. In verse 18 a few rewards for living wisely include: riches, honor, lasting wealth, and righteousness.

Wisdom is God’s gift!
But His benefits include much more. Revelation 5:12 says Christ received power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessing. Since we are co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17), these valuable treasures are also available to us! It doesn’t mean we all walk around with exquisite material possessions, but it does mean we have an inheritance in Jesus that will never fade!

I tried to compare the short-lived satisfaction I might get from judging others with the eternal riches of Christ, but it’s not even worth mentioning.
Is it better to do things my way or to focus on living like Jesus?
How does my “wisdom” for life stack up against what God has appointed me to do by living wisely for Him? (John 15:16)

Two words.
It doesn’t.

The best, most wise thing I can do, day after day, is to focus on following Jesus with all that I am, which means loving others well and growing in understanding of who God is through studying Scripture.

As I focus on following, my Father will delight my heart in much sweeter ways than any temporary pleasure I might have in straying into sin with my words or heart attitudes.

I’m learning to follow better by asking myself some questions when I start to judge, complain, or do something unloving.

Am I judging this person because it reminds me of my own past or current behavior?

 Will doing this draw me closer to God in any way?  Will it draw this person closer to God?

Does this reflect God’s wisdom?

How can I turn what I am headed toward into an act of love?

Sisters, let us be rich in the Lord and rich toward each other by loving wisely!

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

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