Laura

The GT Weekend! ~ Sketched VI Week 3

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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) Marsha had been following Jesus, committed to living for Him, but struggled with voices of shame and guilt. She found herself quick to condemn herself, even though she worked hard to love others and give them grace, despite their own past mistakes. Sometimes, accepting the on-going, unconditional, perfectly complete, gracious forgiveness of Jesus on our behalf is much harder than that choosing to forgive others of their sin. Pause to take note of where you are much harder on yourself than you are on others. Where are you pushing too hard and not allowing margin in your life for your own self-care, for rest, and for dedicated time spent with the Lord? Unless we are accepting Christ’s lavish love for ourselves, it will be difficult to love others!

2)  Laura’s life was made new because of the dramatic, insistent, presence of love. Love from neighbors. Love from adopted parents. Love from a sister. All of these examples of unconditional love pointed her closer and closer to the unending love of a Father God. When she finally experienced Jesus’ love for herself, she realized how deeply she had already been loved by Him through the people around her. Who has invested deeply into your life by showing you Jesus’ love? Who have you done this for and how have you seen it impact them? Take time this weekend to write a note to someone who has embodied Jesus’ love for you, and encourage them by letting them know they made a difference. How we love one another helps others see Jesus more clearly!

3)  Shannon made many attempts to fix herself, sure that if she found and followed the right formula, she would find freedom and wholeness. Everything she tried not only failed her, but left her feeling more broken than before. The cycles of working at religion were so empty. Everything changed for her with a gracious invitation to participate in biblical community. As people around her shared vulnerably of their own transformation and lived out in regular everyday life what it means to be loved by the Savior, Shannon couldn’t get enough of this sweet truth! Believers who loved Jesus more than their own comfort zones were pivotal players in Shannon’s dramatic life change. Are you investing with everything you have for the lives of those around you? Who have you written off as being “too far away” or “unlikely Christian”? Pray consistently about who the Lord is placing in your life for you to live like Jesus alongside.

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 Ephesians 4:31-32 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor
and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Prayer Journal
Like everything else, we humans try to work hard, fix it ourselves, rescue ourselves, and ignore the unmerited grace You offer through Your son, Jesus. Lord, I know I do this, even though I’ve been following You and studying Your Word for years. I still try to do the work You’ve given to me or love the people You’ve put in my life on my own power. It’s never effective without You, Jesus. Press this truth before me, Lord. Let me be reminded of my need to be totally dependent on You, Your Power, and Your forgiving, gracious love no matter what I do today!

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

Sketched Day 14 Laura: 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 Laura!

The Questions

1) How will God preserve and save?

2) What “purposes” do the Lord have?

3) What are the “works” of God’s hands?

Psalm 138:7-8

If I walk into the thick of danger,
you will preserve my life
from the anger of my enemies.
You will extend your hand;
your right hand will save me.
8 The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.
Lord, your faithful love endures forever;
do not abandon the work of your hands.

Original Intent

1) How will God preserve and save?
There is no guarantee anywhere in Scripture that those who give their lives to the Lord will experience material wealth, physical health, and smooth relationships. If it were true that all who accepted Jesus as Savior benefited in these ways, everyone would see and take notice and want in on Jesus too. But, that would be a business deal, and that is as far from what the heart of God wants for us as the east is from the west. What God desires is a deep, faithful relationship of commitment with our whole hearts. (Isaiah 29:13) If we miss the relationship aspect, focusing instead on what we can get from following Jesus, we’ve missed the point so completely we might as well have the integrity to admit we don’t actually want to follow Him. The reality for every Christ-follower is that our surrender to Him will cost us our lives. (Matthew 10:38-39) Salvation is free, (Ephesians 2:8) but obedience is about total surrender of every aspect of our everyday lives (Luke 14:33). To help us with this impossible “handing over of rights”, is the Spirit of God who lives inside every believer, teaching them what it means to give up control. The sweet spot?! In that surrender, we experience a richness the world could never possibly provide!

2) What “purposes” do the Lord have?
The Lord God, being all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present has always had a Master plan. His purposes are deep and unfathomable, far too lofty for humanity to begin to comprehend the breadth and depth of them (Isaiah 55:8-9), but that doesn’t stop Him from inviting each believer into His work of accomplishing those purposes. By studying Scripture, we can see enough of His purposes to give us the direction and guidance we need to follow Him. For example, He purposes for His kingdom to be built on earth as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6:10), He purposes for all to know Him (1 Timothy 2:4), He purposes for the Church to be unified in love (John 15:12), and He purposes for believers to grow in faith and understanding of who He is (Ephesians 1:17-18). These are only a few examples of the purposes God has revealed in Scripture. While He has intentional plans for the world, the human race, and the Church, He also has plans for every single person who gives their life to Him. (Ephesians 2:10) These purposed intentions are designed to work in connection with His larger purposes. We all have a role to play in His plan!

3) What are the “works” of God’s hands?
The psalmist concludes his song with a plea for God not to forget the work of His hands. David full well understands that just as God has initiated this sweet, tender relationship with him, just as God is David’s source of rescue and salvation, and just as God’s purposes are at work in Him, so is David the very work of God’s own hand. How precious! David’s life was hidden there in the protection of the Almighty! (Psalm 91:1-4) As is often found in the Psalms, David was praying a truth he already knew. God never abandons the work of His hands, and David already knew this. He still cried it out to God to remind himself of God’s character as he was in the presence of God. Also, David adds his plea for God to never forget him on the tail end of stating two other immoveable realities, God’s faithfulness to fulfill His purposes and God’s enduring love. David was speaking with the Lord much like a small child would to a parent in the face of fear. I know you are good to me, Daddy, I know you will always love me just like you’ve told me, please, please, don’t leave me. Of course, the daddy won’t leave the child, he is too good of a father and has proven his love over and over. The same is true of the Father God and David. God had proven His love, proven His faithfulness, and of course, He would never abandon David, the precious, delighted over, work of His hands.

Everyday Application

1) How will God preserve and save?
As we relinquish ourselves, the Father becomes the holder of our very hearts. He lovingly teaches, gently corrects, constantly shapes us to reflect Him, wraps us in tender love, and fights for us. He is not a distant God, rather He is the with us God who sees our every hurt, knows the depth of our anguish, and sits with us there to protect our hearts as we sit in His shelter. While the outside may crumble away, the Lord renews our inner soul, giving us His own courage and the promise to never leave. (2 Corinthians 4:16) His promise to preserve and save as referenced in this verse begins here, in the sacred ground of our relationship with Him where He is both Lord and Father, and we are both slave and precious child. The inside soul is where He fights for us first and foremost. Additionally, the Lord is indeed abundantly gracious in the physical realm just as He is in the relational and spiritual realms. He provides food, strengthens relationships, brings conviction, gives us the common graces of finances, medicine, vehicles, housing, and clothes. Again, the Lord sees all and knows all, and will provide what we need. Often, however, we focus solely on the physical, expecting God to give us what we perceive we need. These are the times to remember God first is fighting for our hearts, teaching us to trust His good character. Seek His face, ask Him to grow your desire to learn His heart, and practice sitting still with the Lord studying His word. This is the beginning of His rescue!

2) What “purposes” do the Lord have?
It’s important to know that while God has lovingly crafted plans for each of us to walk into for our everyday life that ultimately fulfill His larger purposes, we can neither fulfill these purposes on our own strength, nor can we mess them up beyond His redemption. The Lord’s master plans will never be thwarted. (Isaiah 46:10) What He chooses to accomplish, will come to pass in His way and in His time. However, there is a tension involved here, because He also gives us freedom of choice. Esther had the choice to stand in the gap for her people or watch them be slaughtered. Moses had the choice to walk forward in faith, believing God would use him in his weakness to lead Israel out of slavery or push back and tell God he couldn’t because He wasn’t a good speaker. Esther chose obedience and God used her small choices to accomplish His larger plans. Moses chose to push back, and although God still used Him, He also brought in Aaron as Moses’ mouthpiece and it was Aaron who later led Israel to sin by worshipping a golden idol. With Moses, God still used him and His purposes were still accomplished, but He allowed for freedom of choice. In Judges, God had given clear victory over to Barak against his enemies, but He also gave Barak freedom of choice, and because Barak chose fear over faith, the victory went to a common woman named Jael, whom God used to accomplish His purposes, despite Barak’s personal choice. We each have a choice to make when it comes to God’s purposes. If we submit to His rule, choosing to follow His ways, He will faithfully work His purposes through us. If we choose our way instead, He will still finish His work, but we will have missed out on being an active participant with Him in that work.

3) What are the “works” of God’s hands?
Just as David was the delighted over son, so are we. If you have given over your heart to the God was has faithfully loved you since the moment He knit you together in your mothers’ womb, He is yours and you are His. He has proven His love to you time and time again. Can you see His hand? Count the ways He has loved you, write them down as reminders of His good love towards you that never ends! He has proven He will always fulfill His purposes in you if you’ve given Him reign over your heart and life. Where have you seen His purposes coming to fulfillment? Have you grown in your faith? Have you learned to love more like Him? Have you reached out and encouraged another to grow in their faith as well? These are His purposes! His kindness towards His adopted sons and daughters endures forever; His presence will never leave! But, I know, we don’t always feel that way do we? This was certainly true for David. Sometimes we find him shouting praise and dancing, and other times we find him in the pit of despair wondering where God was. But, every time, we find David recounting what He knew to be true of this God who loved him and rescued Him. We would be wise to do the same!

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

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 Sketched VI 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!

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

Sketched Day 13 Laura

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Read His Words Before Ours!

John 1:9-13
Galatians 3:23-4:7
Psalm 27:7-14
Psalm 138:7-8

Sketched VI, Day 13

 

My life is a reflection of the grace of God.
I can’t look at any season I’ve walked through when Jesus hasn’t been faithful to provide.
It may not look like how I wanted, but He is faithful.

I was born to a mother who was addicted to drugs; I was a drug baby.
Those who knew my mother said if I were to think of any terrible action, my mother had done worse to get her hands on drugs. It was common for her to make drug deals in front of my sister and I, and prostitute in front of us.  I’m sure there was more, but it was never told to me – maybe to protect my mind – but I think I get the picture without any more stories.

My parents were foster parents when they welcomed my sister and I, which already gives you a glimpse of their hearts and lives, as they cared for children who weren’t their own. Later in life, I asked my mother why she’d never had her own kids. She told me about giving birth to a stillborn baby, which affected her more than anyone wanted to admit. She said she never wanted to experience that pain again.

So, my parents adopted both my sister and I, along with my brother who was born from another family. We lived in California, close to my biological family and siblings. We would visit often, usually weekly. I loved knowing my grandparents, it was like knowing I came from somewhere.

I remember one night packing up and leaving our home. We didn’t say goodbye to anyone, we just left. Our neighbor, who we were best friends with, saw us moving and came over to say goodbye. Later in life, that same neighbor told me she thinks my parents were trying to protect us from my siblings and biological mother in California. They saw the hurt and destruction the relationships were causing with my biological siblings being so close to my mom. My parents didn’t want to that environment for us too.

I remember being embarrassed telling people I was adopted when I entered elementary school. My cousin, Racheal, however, was so proud to know me and told EVERYONE we were related and I was adopted.
But for me, I always hated people knowing this part of my story.

Perhaps it was because my parents were older or a different ethnicity than me.
Or maybe adoption gave off the idea of being unwanted.
Regardless of how I felt about adoption, my parents loved me unconditionally.
Isn’t that strange for someone to love you SO well and SO deeply without being a biological parent?!

In middle school, we took our annual trip to California to visit friends and family where I had the opportunity to meet my biological aunts and uncles.
I had never met them, and I was so excited to meet people who were like me!
Maybe we had the same eye color, or nose, or the texture of our hair was the same. There was something about being adopted; for me, I just wanted to know who I was.

My aunts looked just like me, especially my aunt Vera.
When I met her, I felt like I had a connection with someone who looked like me. I asked my mom if we could move closer to them so I could know them better.
It crushed her, because she had spent the last 14 years of her life caring for us and raising us. To her, I seemed willing to throw that love away on someone I didn’t even know. While my aunt and I are still very close to this day, I think the idea of my mom losing someone she loved – again –  was terrifying.

The deep love the Lord has for us is much like this.
When I gave my life to Jesus at church camp in the summer of 2007, I began understanding His love. I began to take in the truth of the Lord having a plan for me and being for me, not against me.
Jesus had rescued me from a drugged-out woman who told my parents she never wanted me. He was there in the moments of abandonment as a child, comforting me through my earthly father’s love. That’s how good He is, that’s how good His plan is!

The Lord has taught me so much of His grace and what adoption looks like through His eyes. He is our Adopted Father!
I don’t think I really got this picture until I was in my twenties as I began realizing how much my parents sacrificed for our family; all for love.

There is something so sweet about adoption and the way it correlates with Scripture and God’s love for us.
When Jesus adopts us into His family,
He doesn’t give up on us when we do something wrong.
He doesn’t shame us when we fall short.

MY parents would NEVER do that to me, because they loved me like Jesus.
I partied in high school and they never once told me I was rejected from their family.
They chose love.
The same unconditional love our Father gives us surpasses anything I will ever experience.

I was abandoned. I was rejected, but I have been beautifully accepted, loved, and adopted. I know what it’s like to be loved, wanted, valued, heard, and a daughter to someone who said yes to you first!

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A Note About Sketched
In this series, we are stepping into the shoes of various characters throughout history. Some are biblical, some are well-known in modern day times, and some are people our writers know personally. We do our best to research the culture and times surrounding these individuals to give an accurate representation of their first-person perspectives on life and the world, but we can’t be 100% accurate. “Sketched” is our best interpretation of how these characters view(ed) God, themselves, and the world around them. Our hope is that by stepping into their everyday, we will see our own lives a little differently!
Enjoy!
And keep watching for Sketched Themes to pop up throughout the year!

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 Sketched VI 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 Sketched VI!