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Worship IX Day 12 Spirit & Truth: 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 Spirit & Truth!

The Questions

1) What is meant by New Moons, festivals, and burnt offerings? (verses 11-14)

2) How does the righteous Lord respond to a disobedient people? (verse 15)

3) What antidote does God give for Israel’s rebellion? (verses 16-20)

Isaiah 1:11-20

“What are all your sacrifices to me?”
asks the Lord.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams
and the fat of well-fed cattle;
I have no desire for the blood of bulls,
lambs, or male goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who requires this from you—
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing useless offerings.
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons and Sabbaths,
and the calling of solemn assemblies—
I cannot stand iniquity with a festival.
14 I hate your New Moons and prescribed festivals.
They have become a burden to me;
I am tired of putting up with them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will refuse to look at you;
even if you offer countless prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are covered with blood.


16 “Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves.
Remove your evil deeds from my sight.
Stop doing evil.
17 Learn to do what is good.
Pursue justice.
Correct the oppressor.
Defend the rights of the fatherless.
Plead the widow’s cause.

18 “Come, let’s settle this,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are scarlet,
they will be as white as snow;
though they are crimson red,
they will be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the good things of the land.
20 But if you refuse and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Original Intent

1) What is meant by New Moons, festivals, and burnt offerings? (verses 11-14)
God had instituted these festivals, celebrations, and offerings as tangible reminders of God’s goodness and love towards His people, Israel. He commanded them to celebrate these festivals regularly; to ignore them would have been disobedient. However, Isaiah the prophet records the Lord telling Israel to cease all their rituals and ceremonies that He Himself has instituted because their hearts had missed the point, which was worshipping God. The intention of the festivals was to remind them of God’s goodness toward Israel, while the blood sacrifices were meant to remind them that every sin carried a cost. Even though “It’s impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4), the sacrifices were necessary to show the people that 1) blood payment must be made for sin and 2) God is gracious to accept their offerings while they waited for the Ultimate Sacrifice to come as the Messiah, Christ Jesus, whose blood would pay for all sin. (1 John 2:2) The sacrifices reminded Israel they were a guilty people in desperate need of a Redeemer. Sacrifices also kept Israel in relationship with the Lord by prodding them to confess their sin, repent (turn away), and be made right with God. Over time, the sacrifices became empty rituals and Israel’s heart was far from God. Ritual without heart-change, sacrifice without obedience, gifts without authenticity, these were what God despised. He declared these empty acts to be a “trampling of My courts.” (verse 12) The stinging criticism of worship in verses 11-14, is not an indictment of worship in general. Rather, it is an indictment of worship that serves as a COVER-UP for EMPTY HEARTS. External religion is an easy cloak to disguise sin.

2) How does the righteous Lord respond to a disobedient people? (verse 15)
Verse 15 records the Lord responding to Israel’s sinful rebellion by refusing to look at or listen to them. He paid no attention to their outstretched hands or many prayers; their hearts didn’t desire true repentance or confession. Authentic worship was absent. Though He loved His people, their repetitive decisions to sin were detestable; God couldn’t look upon them because their hearts were not repentant. Without true repentance, sacrifice was meaningless. Isaiah and Amos, among others, warned of coming exile for Israel’s persistent sin. God would send fire to Judah and their cities would become desolate. (Isaiah 1:7, Amos 2:4-5) God’s response to sinful disobedience has consistently remained the exact same from the Garden of Eden, to ancient Israel, to the early church, and our own generation. Justice. (Isaiah 30:18) He is a just God, refusing to allow any sin to go unpunished. He can neither look upon sin nor ignore it. The price for sin must be paid, this is justice. Graciously, He is also infinitely good and loving, which led Him to give Himself for the payment of our sin. He paid the penalty we never could for every single sin when He died on the cross as a blood sacrifice. Only a perfect Being could pay the penalty of sin in full.  He proved He had all authority over sin and death by rising from the dead on the third day. Now, for all who choose to trust Him as Savior, God can look on us and listen to us, even if we still sin because He has taken our condemnation and given us righteousness instead! (Romans 8:1-2, 2 Corinthians 5:21) No amount of sacrifices from Israel could change the posture of their hearts. Without a heart and life reformation, God could not accept their sacrifices, nor would He be manipulated by them!

3) What antidote does God give for Israel’s rebellion? (verses 16-20)
Isaiah was an evangelistic prophet, telling the coming good news of the Messiah. Even his name means “Salvation of Jehovah”. It is quite significant, therefore, that his first chapter contains the gospel invitation. Long before Jesus would come as a babe then die as the Savior, Isaiah wrote, ““Come, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are crimson red, they will be like wool.” (verse 18) Sin was bluntly acknowledged, consequence was justly coming, yet the Lord offers this antidote, “Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight.
Stop doing evil. Learn to do what is good. Pursue justice.” (verses 16-17) Cleansing from sin was available to Israel, even now in the heat of their rebellion. Their washing was totally separated from ANY human merit or effort. The goodness they were called to do directly followed the cleaning and did not precede it. Good works have never been able to cover sin, only true cleansing. This washing is found only in the mercy of God. It was His mercy that permitted the blood of animals to act as payment for sin, even though they couldn’t remove sin. The perfect display of mercy came as the Father sent the Son to shed His blood on the cross to perfectly pay for every sin. (1 John 2:2) What lavish mercy! Still, the prophet warns that unless willful cleansing occurs, war and destruction await, “But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” (verse 20)

Everyday Application

1) What is meant by New Moons, festivals, and burnt offerings? (verses 11-14)
As I researched this passage, I found myself focusing on the intricacies of festivals and burnt offerings which comprised the everyday rhythms of ancient Israel. I studied what each offering meant and the detailed directions on which offering to give if you committed this sin or that, knowingly or unknowingly, whether the animal was clean or unclean, and which rituals to follow when. I became entangled in intense detail. It was like a fall corn maze; which route is the right path to obedience and pleasing God? I became anxious and felt trapped. Which way, Lord? Stopping to pray as I studied was essential to understanding this simple truth from the Lord: offer sacrifices of worship. (Hebrews 13:15) Old Testament festivals and sacrifices are no longer required by believers today because Jesus paid the full blood price for our sins on the cross. However, the sacrifice of thanksgiving is evidenced in both Old and New Testaments just in differing forms. (Leviticus 7:12, Ephesians 5:20) Today, we don’t offer grain for thanksgiving, we use the whole of our lives as “living sacrifices”. (Romans 12:1, Matthew 22:37) Daily life can be a maze, and we can feel lost and confused, forgetting to bring the simple offering of ourselves with a childlike faith and repentant hearts before the King. It’s easy to weave a tangled web with daily chores and “to do” lists which pull us away from offering heart worship. If we aren’t intentional, we can end up only offering lip service in prayer and neglecting true worship. Even if this describes you sometimes, as it does me, there is hope! Instead of New Moons, festivals and burnt offerings, rituals in our personal lives and churches, let’s lean into worship in Spirit and truth. Our devoted hearts, genuine love, and faithfulness are exactly what GOD wants.

2) How does the righteous Lord respond to a disobedient people? (verse 15)
God is holy and righteous; He cannot be in the presence of sin. (1 John 5:18) Once we trust that Jesus has paid the penalty for our sin, and accept His righteousness in place of our rebellion, we are declared righteous. Even if we sin after we have trusted Christ, we are still covered by His blood sacrifice. (1 John 1:9) Without the covering of Christ, however, we stand condemned; we have rejected Christ. (John 3:18) When we choose to sin, we are walking away from a close relationship with God, even our prayers are hindered. (Psalm 66:18) Our hands are bloody with our sin, and though we offer countless prayers, if our hearts are not contrite before Him, He will reject us. Without faith and repentance, it’s impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6, Mark 1:15) While under our sin-nature, our natural bent is to rebel and disobey God, but when we surrender to Christ, He gives us a new nature. (Romans 5:5) God the Spirit lives inside us, teaching us to obey God (John 14:26), equipping us to follow Him (Hebrews 13:21), and giving us the desire to do His work (Philippians 2:13). Following God in obedience is the practical acceptance of the authority of God in our everyday lives. Our surrendered hearts to Christ allow His Spirit to rule in our lives, giving us the ability to step away from sinful rebellion and into obedience. We can halt our disobedient trajectory by reading God’s Word and asking the Spirit to open our eyes to our sinful patterns. Every Christian should evaluate all of life against Scripture through prayer. Marriage, career, relationships, our words, thoughts, actions, and even our body language should all reflect a heart of surrendered worship! Once the Spirit convicts us of sin, we are to confess it for the Lord promises pardon. (1 John 1:9)

3) What antidote does God give for Israel’s rebellion? (verses 16-20)
Isaiah’s prophecy depicts a severely fractured relationship between God and the people of Israel because of their sin. However, verses 16-20 make a way for restoration through the mercies of God. Israel’s “sins were as scarlet”, but so are ours. Israel rebelled against God by serving and loving themselves. Their greatest sin was rejection of the One True God. They were called upon to follow Him, but they spurned Him. So we turn the mirror on ourselves and inspect our lives for sin. Have we ever refused the ways of the Lord? Have our lips ever rejected His truth by telling a lie? Have our hands ever taken what was not ours, even just a pen or an extra item from the store at check out? Every single act of rebellion against the Lord will carry a just punishment. You and I are just as sinful as Israel, but God’s mercies are just as lavish. No matter how detestable Israel’s sin, God was willing to forgive and cleanse, and so He is with us. Will we choose to be clean? Will we live by faith and allow Christ to sever our ties to sin? The choice is ours just as it was for Israel. Will we come to Christ the Forgiver and confess our sins against Him? Or will we remain in sin with God’s wrath upon us? God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and You shall be my people.” (Jeremiah 7:23) If we will heed God’s call to come and be washed, apart from any self-proclaimed “good deeds”, we have His guarantee that we will be His. Through the blood of Christ, God will make us white as snow; His presence will comfort and delight for eternity. Take the antidote for rebellion and be cleansed by the Judge who longs to make you righteous!

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

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 IX Week Three!
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.

Waiting Day 7 Look, Listen and Wait: 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 Look, Listen and Wait!

The Questions

1) Why would God hide His face from David? (verse 1)

2) Why does David ask God to restore brightness to his eyes? (verse 3)

3) How had the Lord treated David generously? (verse 6)

Psalm 13

1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long will I store up anxious concerns within me,
agony in my mind every day?
How long will my enemy dominate me?

3 Consider me and answer, Lord my God.
Restore brightness to my eyes;
otherwise, I will sleep in death.
4 My enemy will say, “I have triumphed over him,”
and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in your faithful love;
my heart will rejoice in your deliverance.
6 I will sing to the Lord
because he has treated me generously.

Original Intent

1) Why would God hide His face from David? (verse 1)
Psalm 13 is a lament of David, probably written while running away or hiding from Saul, the jealous King who sought to kill God’s chosen leader. (1 Samuel 21) David felt like God was far from him, hiding His face from him, since God wasn’t providing the deliverance and victory he had asked and waited for. Author David Guzik suggests, “No doubt, David had faced worse circumstances but had faced them more bravely when he had sensed the presence of God with him. Yet now, feeling distant from God, it did not take much to send David into despair.” Instead of delivering David from his troubles, God allowed David to wait, seek, and trust in His provision. According to author David C Egner, “When God withholds His hand, He wants us to look to His heart. In other words, He wants us to learn more about His goodness and His love, and to trust Him to do what is best.” Sometimes, God lets us wait so we can exercise our faith in Him. He wants us to trust in His promises and His Word even when our circumstances seem in opposition to God’s promises. The Lord longs to show us mercy and compassion, and promises we will be happy (blessed) when we wait on Him. (Isaiah 30:18) We can be like David and turn our lament into praise (Psalm 13:6) when we choose to patiently wait on God and remind ourselves of His faithfulness in every situation. (Psalm 119:90) At times, it may feel like God’s face is hidden, but He is always near to us (Psalm 145:18) even when He asks us to wait.

2) Why does David ask God to restore brightness to his eyes? (verse 3)
When David asks God to “Restore brightness to my eyes; otherwise, I will sleep in death” (verse 3), he could be asking God for several things. Author Albert Barnes suggests David alludes to “his exhaustion, arising from trouble and despair, as if he were about to die.” David was physically weary from being on the run from King Saul who was trying to kill him. (1 Samuel 19) The brightness had gone out of his eyes due to him searching tirelessly for God to interrupt his circumstances. He was watching for physical deliverance from the Lord while also watching out for his enemy, and his eyes were dimmed and weary as a result. He wanted his eyes to be revived by seeing God deliver him. David Guzik asserts that David also requested spiritual enlightenment because “David had the wisdom to know that though he felt powerful feelings, he wasn’t seeing reality. His vision was clouded and dark, so he cried out to God, “Enlighten my eyes.’” David knew that though his circumstances looked bad, he ultimately needed to see through the lens of God’s beloved, chosen and anointed King (1 Samuel 16) and not through the eyes of a hunted fugitive. He wanted God to restore brightness to his eyes and hope to his heart.

3) How had the Lord treated David generously? (verse 6)
In verse 6, David writes of the future when he will sing to the Lord because He has dealt generously with him. His current situation is nothing to sing about. He is being hunted down by an angry enemy! But David trusts in the faithful love of God and in His deliverance. He is so confident in God’s coming generosity and rescue from his dire straits that he willfully chooses to rejoice now. Because he has already trusted God’s faithful love, David is now free to rejoice! “But I have trusted in Your faithful love; my heart will rejoice in Your deliverance.” (verse 5) Author David C. McCasland notes, “In every struggle—mental, physical, emotional, or spiritual—our challenge is to move from the fear of being overwhelmed to the confidence that God has overcome.” David makes this movement from wondering where God is, to rejoicing in the deliverance he knows is coming. He goes so far as to call God generous for the deliverance He will provide. David believes God is faithful and trustworthy because He has delivered David generously in the past. David knows that though it feels like God is nowhere to be found, He is actually with David, preparing to act generously toward him. Psalm 84:11 tells us that God “is a sun and shield. The Lord grants favor and honor; he does not withhold the good from those who live with integrity.” David believes what he knows to be true about his generous, faithful God instead of the feelings invoked by his fearful situation. We can follow David’s example and trust that God will not withhold good from those who follow Him, regardless of our feelings or situation.

Everyday Application

1) Why would God hide His face from David? (verse 1)
A friend once asked how she could feel close to God again. The Scriptures seemed lifeless and every sermon seemed flat. Her devotional time was fruitless and her prayer time felt empty. She believed God was ignoring her. I encouraged her to keep seeking the Lord, but I wish I had known to direct her to David’s example in Psalm 13. David thought God was hiding His face from him, and he wondered how long God would forget him. (verse 1) According to author James Montgomery Boice, “The fact that we feel abandoned itself means that we really know God is there. To be abandoned you need somebody to be abandoned by. Because we are Christians and have been taught by God in the Scriptures, we know that God still loves us and will be faithful to us, regardless of our feelings.” David’s knowledge of God led him to recall God’s faithfulness. Soon, David’s lament about his circumstances became a plea for God to intervene. (Psalm 13:3) He stopped dwelling on the fear and despair he felt and focused on the God who saves. (Psalm 68:20) When David called out to God, he remembered His faithful God could be trusted. (verse 5) After all, God had already delivered David from a lion, a bear, and a giant. (1 Samuel 17:37) David knew that the God who saved him before could save him again. He was so confident in God’s faithfulness that his heart began to rejoice! (verse 5) His situation hadn’t changed, but his focus had. Instead of wondering why God had forgotten him, David remembered God was his refuge and his deliverer. He no longer saw God as the one hiding His face from him, but rather as the One who could be trusted in all things.

2) Why does David ask God to restore brightness to his eyes? (verse 3)
When asked how he is doing, one friend of mine always cheerfully answers, “I’m living the dream!” Another friend responds to my query with a lilting, “I am blessed and highly favored!” They remind me of the psalmist David, who writes passionately and honestly about his feelings in his songs to the Lord. While many of David’s psalms are praises to God, as seen in Psalm 8 and Psalm 145, David expresses his feelings of despair in Psalm 13:3 when he asks God to restore brightness to his eyes so he does not sleep in death. David is physically and emotionally exhausted from being chased by his enemy, and he lets God know that his eyes are failing and death seems near. He is frustrated that following God has led him to hiding out and fighting for his life. I have never been in such physical danger as David, but I have felt his frustration of doing all the right things only to see my situation get worse. It is hard to remember God’s goodness when our eyes are clouded by difficult circumstances. I want God to remove the obstacles for me, and sometimes He does. But many times, He simply tells me not to fear because He is God and He is with me to strengthen me, help me, and hold on to me. (Isaiah 41:10) If you feel like your eyes and your hope are dim today, call out to God to restore brightness to your eyes and hope to your heart. Even if He does not immediately change your situation, He will give you the strength to endure and peace to comfort you until you rejoice, like David did, in God’s deliverance. (verse 5)

3) How had the Lord treated David generously? (verse 6)
My mom used her sewing machine a lot when I was growing up to make clothes for my sister and I, to make clothes for our dolls, and to make gifts and crafts to sell and give away. So, it was a big deal when her sewing machine broke beyond repair. We didn’t have the money to get a new one, so we prayed for one. I colored a picture of a new machine and hung it above her sewing table as a reminder of what God was going to give her. I don’t remember how it happened (I think someone gifted us their old machine) but it wasn’t long before there was another sewing machine whirring away in the sewing room. I was happy, but not surprised. I was used to God providing when we prayed. I grew up believing God would provide all our needs (Philippians 4:19) and He did, though maybe not in the way I expected or in the time frame I had in mind. Like David, I knew God to be a generous God. (Psalm 13:6) Even in his fear and the chaos of his life on the run, David knew that when he called on God, God would come through. Author Marvin Williams states, “We all go through dark nights of the soul when we wonder if God has abandoned us. As with David, our aching can give way to joy when we approach God honestly, plead for help, and reaffirm our trust in a God whose love for us will never waver or change.” David had some close calls that made him question if God really had his back, but in every situation David was able to recall the goodness and faithfulness of God and the generous treatment he found at God’s hands.

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with Look, Listen and Wait!

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 Waiting 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.

Waiting Day 6 Look, Listen, and Wait

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Genesis 3
Genesis 15:1-6
Psalm 27:7-14
Luke 18:1-8

Waiting, Day 6

From the beginning, humankind has been waiting. In one crushing moment, paradise and unbroken relationship with God were lost. As Adam and Eve trudged from the lushness of the Garden into the dust of everywhere else because of their decision to sin against the God who loved them, the waiting for a redeemer and rescuer began. (Genesis 3)

Eve held a promise her seed would crush the enemy. (Genesis 3:15) Then one son was murdered and the other and was exiled. (Genesis 4:1-16) Eve returned to waiting.

Abraham and Sarah were promised more children than the stars in the skies (Genesis 15:1-6), but they grew tired of waiting and took their own action (Genesis 16). The Middle East has been at war within itself ever since as one son (Ishmael/Islam) warred against the other (Isaac/Judaism).

Generations later, the nation of Israel continued to wait. As foretold to Abraham, God spectacularly and miraculously freed them from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12:29-42, Exodus 14:5-31), but it wasn’t enough.

While Moses received the Law from God on Mt. Sinai, the people decided Yahweh was no longer worth the wait, so they made their own god, a golden calf. Like Abraham and Sarah, Israel took matters into their own hands and disaster followed. (Exodus 32)

From Israel, we learn what not to do while waiting. Choosing to abandon the wait or wrest control from God always results in destruction.

Israel used their waiting in the wilderness as an opportunity to continue their rebellion rather than choose to grow in trusting Yahweh. (Numbers 16) Eventually, by God’s grace, they entered the Promised Land. However, humankind’s sinful nature continued to manifest through disobedience and rebellion in the face of God’s protection and generosity. Israel took God’s gift of land and, through selfish arrogance, their kingdom became savagely divided. They waited for rescue almost continually. Wait, rebel, endure captivity … repeat. Over and over and over. Israel ignored the signs of God’s provision and protection all around them.

Therefore, God appointed prophets to speak for Him, to admonish and encourage the Israelites to return to God. Still, Israel ignored the words of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, and other prophets who all pointed to The Only One who could rescue. (Micah 5:2)

Eventually, the prophets, too, grew silent.
400 years of silence passed without a word or a sign.

We likely haven’t waited 400 years to see God move on our behalf, but even waiting days or months seems like an eternity. It’s hard to hold onto the truth that God still sees us. It’s hard to wait for God to move without attempting to hurry the answer along.

Fast forward to early first century Israel. Rome was the ruling party while Israel still awaited rescue. The 400 years of silent, painful waiting was broken when a young woman was told she would birth the Messiah. (Luke 1:26-33)

Then the Savior was born . . . quietly, inauspiciously, in a stable. (Luke 2:1-7)

A few people knew. Local shepherds and Joseph were visited by angels. The Savior was finally here and they were drawn to worship. (Luke 2:8-20) Seers from the East noticed the star in the heavens mentioned in Numbers 24:17. Though they weren’t followers of Yahweh, they journeyed to Israel to worship this perfect King. (Matthew 2:1-12)

Some suspected. King Herod, who wasn’t the first ruler to order infanticide (Exodus 1:15-22, Matthew 2:16-18), attempted to murder the Promised One, albeit unsuccessfully.
He wasn’t the last to seek Christ’s death.

Still Israel waited thirty more years.

Some in Israel, like Abraham had once done, took matters into their own hands. Zealots began uprisings, fomenting insurrections in an attempt to gain control. They incurred the brutal wrath of Rome and the Sanhedrin (hypocritical and self-righteous religious leaders). Once again, rebellion in the waiting was deadly.

To this unrest, Jesus began His ministry unlike Israel expected, without army or militia. Instead, He revealed the heart of the Father, teaching, healing, and restoring. While the Sanhedrin’s authority felt threatened, and several thousand noticed the miraculous (Matthew 14:13-21), most of Israel completely missed their long-awaited Rescuer living among them.

Sisters, it’s so easy to judge Israel’s folly, but how often have we missed God moving in our lives because He didn’t show up as we expected? Like Israel, we become weary of waiting; we’d rather plunge headfirst into doing things our way. When the outcome is painful, and we open our eyes, we see God was present all along in unexpected ways.

Are you waiting?
I’ve been in a “How long, O Lord?” season.
No clear words from the Lord, and no peace to any direction I consider.

So, I wait.

Is it frustrating? Absolutely. I want clear answers and control.
I want to know “why.”
The uncomfortable call to trust, abide, and rest in Him isn’t easy!

Where do we begin?

Read His Word consistently.
Consider the Psalms where we find company in David’s laments and comfort in his decision to praise.

Put on worship music. Many genres are available!

Finally, let’s be honest with God.
Tell Him the wait is hard, even painful and confusing. Ask the Holy Spirit, our comforter, to teach us to wait with expectancy, ready for our Father’s fulfillment of His promises!

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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 Waiting 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 Waiting!

Word Day 9 It Is I Am: 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 It Is I Am!

The Questions

1) Who is Jesus referring to when He says, “My sheep”? (verse 27)

2) How do these sheep hear His voice and follow? (verse 27)

3) What does Jesus mean by saying, “No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand”? (verse 29)

John 10:27-30

“My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

Original Intent

1) Who is Jesus referring to when He says, “My sheep”? (verse 27)
Jesus often refers to His followers as sheep. Sheep and shepherds were plentiful and a normal part of everyday living at this point in history. Understanding the role of shepherds as they cared for their flocks will help us better understand Jesus’ words in this passage. The job of shepherd most frequently fell to the youngest boy in the family, which is demonstrated in 1 Samuel 16 when the prophet Samuel is sent to the house of Jesse to anoint a new king. Samuel visits all the older sons before asking if there are any others. We read in verse 11, “There is still the youngest,” he answered, “but right now he’s tending the sheep.” This youngest shepherd boy was David and Israel’s future king. Shepherds spent a lot of time with their flocks, in fact pretty much all of their time, both day and night. A shepherd’s job was twofold, first was providing for needs, which meant planning for food and water each day. This dictated where the shepherd would lead his flock. The second aspect was protection. Shepherds carried slings (you might remember this from David’s battle with Goliath), rods, and staffs, which were all used to protect and defend the sheep under their care. A shepherd’s protection ensured none of the flock wandered away or was lost. Shepherds developed a close relationship with the sheep and their flocks, knowing them as unique animals, and able to identify them easily. Even with this broad overview, it’s easy to see why Jesus would use this analogy to demonstrate how He is our Shepherd, Provider, and Protector and we are His sheep.

2) How do these sheep hear His voice and follow? (verse 27)
As we just learned, sheep and shepherds spend basically all of their time together. Sheep learn to listen for the familiar voice of their personal shepherd and follow him when he calls. The kind of intimacy required for sheep to easily pick out their shepherd’s voice, recognize it, and follow is built on the amount of time spent together. In this passage, Jesus is teaching these new believers to think of themselves as sheep who are learning the voice and rhythm of their shepherd. His words are not meant to be demeaning, but simply to teach them to depend on Him and grow close to Him. He is saying, “I’m going to take on the role of shepherd and all the responsibilities that go with this role. You will be the sheep. Spend time with Me, become familiar with when and how I speak, then follow Me, knowing I’ve got your back”.

3) What does Jesus mean by saying, “No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand”? (verse 29)
Jesus is referring to eternal security with these words, meaning He has the power and ability to protect a soul entrusted to Him for all of eternity. Many people in Jesus’ audience were quite familiar with the numerous times God’s chosen people were seemingly “snatched” away from God’s protection. They were taken from their homes, land, safety, and sometimes even families by foreign nations and forced into slavery. Even though Israel was God’s chosen people, their lives weren’t always safe, mostly because they continued to rebel against Him. Jesus’ statement, “no one can snatch them away”, comes on the heels of a question posed in John 10:24. “The Jews surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” The people were still looking for an earthly king, not an eternal one. They wanted a king who would provide the protection and earthly security they longed for. But they still didn’t see the big picture. Jesus hadn’t come to be a temporary earthly king and make Israel more comfortable. He came to conquer Sin and Death for all time by offering Himself as a sacrifice to pay the penalty we all owe. This was a radical shift in thinking for the Jews, and because Jesus hadn’t yet been crucified or resurrected, they just didn’t understand His full meaning. However, the truth behind Jesus’ statement remains true, once you choose to accept and follow Jesus, eternal security is yours!

Everyday Application

1) Who is Jesus referring to when He says, “My sheep”? (verse 27)
All who trust Jesus as their great Rescuer from the debt we owe God because of our sin are the sheep. Jesus is the Shepherd. Think of it as each of us having “roles to play”. Jesus, as our Shepherd, takes full responsibility for us, His well-cared for and beloved sheep. Our role is much simpler, because well, we’re sheep! We listen intently for His voice, are ready to watch for His movement, and are quick to follow Him because we trust Him. When we relate a shepherd’s responsibilities to how Jesus leads, protects, nourishes, rescues, knows, and loves His followers, it’s easy to allow Jesus to rightfully take the role of Shepherd in our lives once we surrender to Him and become His sheep. I encourage you to stop reading this for a few minutes, grab your Bible and read all of John 10 because you will learn much more from Jesus’ words as He describes His role as our Good Shepherd over mine! The deep love and care Jesus, as our Shepherd, has for His sheep is pretty indescribable!

2) How do these sheep hear His voice and follow? (verse 27)
“But I don’t hear God speak to me!” Let’s be honest, we’ve all heard those words and we’ve likely even said them ourselves. We make excuses like, “It’s not the same! Jesus’ first followers could physically hear and see Him”, or “I’ve never actually heard Jesus speak, so how am I supposed to recognize His voice?”. Not to be overly harsh, but we make these excuses because it’s easier. It takes time, energy, and consistency on our part to develop the intimate relationship with Jesus required for us to shut out all other voices in our heads. It’s easier because, if we say we can’t hear Jesus, we think it means we can just do what we want and decide for ourselves which way to go. You know how we can recognize and pick out the voice of a loved from across a busy room? We’ve heard their voice so frequently because of the proximity of our relationship with them, it’s easy to identify their voice above all others. The same is true when we listen to Jesus. Learning to actively listen to His whispers generally doesn’t “just happen”; it takes time as we practice sitting quietly in stillness and reading His Word. Intimacy comes with time and consistency.

3) What does Jesus mean by saying, “No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand”? (verse 29)
The feeling of safety and security is something we all want; just consider how many times we pray for health and safekeeping for our loved ones! For most of us, attempting to manufacture this security means we spend quite a bit of time planning, preparing, and worrying about the “what ifs” of life. We work hard, save for the future and the unexpected, and set up rules or boundaries intended to protect those we love. While those things are important to some extent, they can distract us from trusting God in ALL things. Ultimately, our eternities are secure once we have accepted Jesus’ work on the cross for us and surrendered our lives to Him. The truth is, there is no thing and no one who can change this reality! As fickle humans, consumed and distracted by this world, it’s easy for us to lose sight of the eternal promises of Jesus. The honest truth is there is no way we can plan for and protect ourselves and loved ones from the unexpected entirely. People get sick, accidents happen, children rebel, and loved ones die. It takes a conscious and daily, sometimes even hourly, choice to leave our lives in the more than able, more than capable hands of Jesus the trustworthy Shepherd. We can rest assured that even when bad things come our way, Jesus has us safely in His grasp; He will never let us go.

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with It Is I Am!

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 Word 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.

The GT Weekend! ~ Worship VII 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) What a glorious thought! Jesus has gone to prepare a place for His family. For those who believe in Jesus, there is an eternal home waiting for us without tears or pain or suffering. We will dwell forever in the house of God! When was the last time you thought about what heaven will be like? Have you spent time contemplating the majesty and wonder of a God who is pleased to be with His people, creating a place for them that is perfect and beautiful? What will it be like to live in a perfect world, in perfect relationship with God, with no sin to get in the way? Sit with these questions today. Imagine deeply what God has promised us in the resurrection. Look back through the verses Quantrilla referenced in our Journey Study yesterday and visualize the glory awaiting God’s people. Write a prayer thanking God for His good plans and telling Him what you are most delighted by as you consider the “sweet by and by.”

2) Throughout Scripture, our life in Christ is referred to as a race or some other physical competition. Running a race requires stamina and endurance, determination and discipline. How often do we become weary in our day-to-day life between the demands of others and seemingly endless checklists? At times, it can feel more like we are running in a hamster wheel than actually pressing on toward a goal. Regardless of our feelings, our sure hope is we do not need to run this race in our own strength! We can put our faith in Christ and trust in His faithfulness to sustain us. As Lesley pointed out, “faith is a matter of focus.” Are you trusting in your own will power, strength, or ability to “finish your race”? Or are you turning your eyes to the faithfulness of Christ, resting in His power, strength, and ability to carry you across the finish line? Is there an area in your life where you have not fully turned your fears over to Him? Take some time today to consider where you are struggling and reorient your focus in those areas to Christ. Ask God to show you His faithfulness, knowing He does great things.

3) Jesus Christ is the great King of Kings! If we really believe this truth, our response should be one of worship and praise for the great work which He has done. Marietta reminded us that Jesus came to Earth at the end of a period of four hundred years of apparent silence from God. The people had been waiting for a promised Messiah; yet, many did not know or recognize Him when He finally arrived. Have you ever gone through a season where it seemed like God was silent? What was your response in that time? How did God come through for you in the end? Reflect today on the faithfulness of God in seasons past, and let this reality encourage you right now. Perhaps you are currently in a season where God seems quiet. How are you responding to His quiet? Are you continuing to walk in faith, even when God seems distant? How can you press into the waiting season and trust in God as King of Kings, and believe He will be faithful to you? Talk to God honestly today about your struggles, big and small. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you and help you remember His goodness.

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 Jude 1:24-25 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.

Prayer Journal
King of Kings, Lord of Lords, God above all. You are great and mighty, yet You choose to care for the weak and lowly. You are faithful, even when Your people are faithless. Thank You for Your loving kindness towards me. Thank You that my life has meaning, not because of who I am or what I do, but because of who You are and what You have done for me. Even when my days are hard, and my weakness is on display, You are constantly faithful. It is only by faith in You and through Your faithful work that I have any hope of salvation. While the world around me seems shaky, when I don’t know who or what to believe, when my future feels uncertain, thank You for holding me fast. Thank You that I do not need to fix myself or my circumstances. Thank You for sustaining the world. Help me to lay down my need for control and certainty. Help me to trust in Your unending goodness.

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

Sola Day 7 Sola Gratia: 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 Sola Gratia!

The Questions

1) What does it mean to “thirst”? (verse 1)

2) What is that which does not satisfy? (verse 2)

3) How is hearing connected to a soul granted life and an everlasting covenant? (verse 3)

Isaiah 55:1-3

1 “Come, everyone who is thirsty,
come to the water;
and you without silver,
come, buy, and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without silver and without cost!
2 Why do you spend silver on what is not food,
and your wages on what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.
3 Pay attention and come to me;
listen, so that you will live.
I will make a permanent covenant with you
on the basis of the faithful kindnesses of David.

Original Intent

1) What does it mean to “thirst”? (verse 1)
God, the Almighty Author of the Universe, is passionate about pursuing His created ones in order to reconcile us back to Himself. This mission is fueled by a love so deep we cannot even begin to comprehend it, and He will use every means possible to show us the depth of His love. To help convey His saving plan of reconciliation, He uses common ideas we are familiar with in order to show us deep spiritual truths. One very common need every human can relate to is thirst. In Scripture, God uses what we already know (being physically thirsty) to demonstrate the true need of our hearts (being spiritually thirsty). The idea of being thirsty is used often within the context of Scripture from the Old Testament all the way to Revelation, the last book in the New Testament. The prophet Isaiah describes a thirsty land (Isaiah 44:3), and Moses recounts a thirsty people (Numbers 20:1-8). In both instances, it was the Lord alone who provided in full for them. The psalmist sings soulfully of how deeply he longed to be quenched by the presence of God. (Psalm 63:1) Jesus encountered the woman at the well who was filling water jugs, and leveraged her physical thirst to point to her deep thirst for the life only God can provide. (John 4:10) This thirst for God is real, it needs to be recognized by each of us, and, mercifully, Living Water (Christ) exists to quench our thirst to overflowing to all who ask! (Revelation 21:6)

2) What is that which does not satisfy? (verse 2)
The prophet Isaiah was calling for an awakening revival for Israel. In the previous chapter, Isaiah had prophesied how the Lord God would come and renew Israel, bringing restoration in the wake of their deserved exile and punishment. Israel’s punishment would not last forever because the Lord was tender and compassionate towards them. “For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you.” (Isaiah 54:7) Isaiah is pointing to the utter futility of Israel’s ways as they pursue rebellion against the God who loves them so immeasurably. They chose to chase after everything they laid their eyes on and lusted after, rather than responding to the call of God. Later, the prophet Haggai would use similar language towards Israel saying, “you eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who learns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.” (Haggai 1:6) Both prophets pointed to the complete emptiness resulting from pursuing the temporary happiness of “things”.

3) How is hearing connected to a soul granted life and an everlasting covenant? (verse 3)
There are three instructive commands in this passage of Scripture, “come”, “listen carefully”, and “pay attention”. First, the invitation to come is extended freely to all, but there is one limiting condition of finding real life, to be thirsty. Only those who are thirsty will find satisfaction. Only those who are thirsty will welcome and receive all the benefits of being quenched by the presence of the Lord God. Fullness and satisfaction can be forced on no one. The Lord invites all, but will force none to receive Him. The choice is ours. The invitation is followed up immediately with the call to action of listening and paying attention. The Lord designed His message to be told and boldly declared in order for it to be heard and received. As Pastor Paul queries in Romans 10:14, “And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher?” Proverbs 1:20 and 23 also speak of this need to listen with attentiveness in order to gain life, “Wisdom calls aloud in the street….if you respond to my warning, then I will pour out My Spirit upon you.” It’s conceivable that someone is thirsty for spiritual things and curious about the things of God, yet still refuse to actually listen to truth and wisdom being poured out for them. They could hear, but not being paying full attention in order to gain understanding. Jesus notes this is the case with the religiously zealous Pharisees of His day when He quotes Isaiah 6:9-10, “they may indeed look, and yet not perceive; they may indeed listen, and yet not understand; otherwise, they might turn back and be forgiven.” (Mark 4:12) When the thirsty respond to the invitation to come, and when they listen with the desire to understand, they will receive real, abundant life, an everlasting covenant where He will guard our souls for eternity.

Everyday Application

1) What does it mean to “thirst”? (verse 1)
Water. Generally, human beings cannot survive without water for more than 3 or 4 days. Tongues stick to the roof of a mouth and just a drop of water becomes the only focus, nothing else matters to the severally dehydrated person. A PE teacher from high school constantly hounded us to drink more water. She rightly said, “If you feel thirsty, you’re already dehydrated.” Because the human body is amazingly designed, we can “cover up” our need for water for a while, maybe a sugary soda or a coffee or two, and we end the day deprived of the life-giving water our bodies crave. Over time, our bodies can be trained to work harder to cover the deficit of less water, further covering our real need. This physical truth reflects a deep, spiritual truth. We can put off our spiritual needs, pretend they don’t really matter (or even exist), or occasionally sprinkle our soul with water from a weekly church gathering, or listening to Christian music. Our souls were meant to be utterly drenched in the living water offered by Christ. We can’t earn it. We can’t purchase it with good deeds or displays of kindness. We don’t deserve it; not even a drop. Yet, here the invitation stands to “all who thirst”. Yes, that’s every single one of us, because we were intentionally created with thirsty souls. How will you nourish your soul? Will you allow the Living Water to wash over you again and again, or will you keep living a dehydrated life? Remember, if you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated! Come! Drink of the full life of Christ!

2) What is that which does not satisfy? (verse 2)
We all know what it’s like to labor hard for something, only to watch it waste away, or even betray us. Maybe it’s as simple as working hard on a document only for your computer to shut down and erase all memory of said writing. Perhaps you’ve invested heavily into a relationship, only to grieve deeply while that person abandons you. Maybe it’s a stock market crash or an illness that took you by surprise, leaving you debilitated where you once were strong. Perhaps you were once motivated passionately, but when real life hit you hard, you were swept under the current and left limp and lifeless. The reality of our broken world will always result in eventual emptiness, leaving us feeling as if we’ve put our everything into a “bag with holes in it”. Poet, C.T. Studd said it best, “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” The prophet Isaiah awakens us with his invitation to leave the emptiness behind and find the fullness of life that is only available through Jesus Christ. Imagine the difference of living your everyday moments with the promise of eternal fullness in Jesus!

3) How is hearing connected to a soul granted life and an everlasting covenant? (verse 3)
Where are you in the process of invitation, being thirsty, and listening attentively? Regardless of whether we have surrendered our everything to the lordship of Jesus Christ, or if we are exploring what it means to follow Christ, this same pathway of invitation, thirst, and attentiveness exists. If you’ve long followed Jesus, His invitation to know Him more deeply stands with the door flung wide every moment of every day. Are you still thirsty for Him, fellow believing sister? Do you long for more of Him? Are you actively listening to His voice? Do you practice learning His voice a little more each day by reading His Word and engaging with Him? His invitation is open! Not sure about Jesus? Wonder if He is who He claims? Do you have doubts? Feel insufficient in your faith? The Lord’s invitation stands for you, “Come!”. “Come, buy without price!” There is nothing you must do, no part of your life you must “fix” on your own before coming. Christ simply calls out, “Come!”. Embrace the thirstiness of your soul and the longings for wholeness and healing of  your heart. Listen for the Lord as He speaks life over you!

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

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 Sola 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.

Shielded Day 3 Unmasking The Real Enemy

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Genesis 2:8-17
Ephesians 6:12-13
James 4:7-12
1 Peter 5:6-9

Shielded, Day 3

“Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary, the devil,
is prowling around like a roaring lion,
looking for anyone he can devour.”
1 Peter 5:8

Do you know what it means to “prowl?” Images of lions (Thank you, Apostle Paul!) and tigers come to mind, but let’s break it down a little more.

Merriam Webster defines prowl as “to move about or wander stealthily in or as if in search of prey; to roam over in a predatory manner.”

Stealthy is defined as “slow, deliberate, and secret in action or character; intended to escape observation.”

Do you know what might be is the stealthiest warfare tactic in the history of the world?

Listen, Loves. This is important.

It is to convince those you aim to destroy their battle isn’t with you at all. Better yet? Persuade them you don’t even exist, you are powerless, and all conflict they encounter lies wholly in the hands of their fellow humans.

This is how the enemy works. And friend? He is really, really good at it . . . but he can only ever be as successful as we allow him to be. That’s right; we are active participants in this struggle.

The book of Ephesians is packed full of Paul’s divinely inspired instruction and guidance on how to become spiritually mature, growing in faith and favor. Ephesians gives practical, God-breathed guidelines for us to follow if we want to live a holy life. As Paul concludes his epistle, we find ourselves walking through the word picture of God’s armor, which we are unpacking in this Journey Theme, Shielded.

Tucked right in the heart of the passage, in verse 12, lies the important truth we are digging into today:
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.” Ephesians 6:12

Truth? Sometimes when we’re (read: I’m) in the midst of a respectful disagreement passionate discussion (oh, let’s drop the pretty words and just be real) conflict with our
husband,
sister,
parent,
child,
friend,
boss,
co-worker,
fellow believer,
neighbor,
or acquaintance,
the very last thing on our minds is understanding our struggle is not with the person in front of us at all, but with the enemy and unseen forces at work behind the scenes.

A little more Truth? When we find our frustration and ire rising toward the person and not the enemy, we are allowing Satan to take ground. 

We can’t allow this unwitting collaboration to continue any longer, Friend! We must stay alert and take care not to ascribe any glory to the enemy, but at the same time, we must also be aware of exactly who he is and how he works so we can refrain from falling for his traps.

Scripture tells us many things about the enemy and his tactics.

 

Now that we know who he is and how he works, let’s walk through the next bit of truth Paul delivers.

“For this reason, take up the full armor of God,
so that you may be able to resist in the evil day,
and having prepared everything,
to take your stand.”
Ephesians 6:13

Did you catch that? “For this reason” implies what immediately follows must take place because of what came directly before, which is verse 12.

Here’s how I read it [my words are in bold]:

“For this reason [because your battle is against unseen enemy forces], take up the full armor of God [allow yourself to be clothed in God’s spiritual armor rather than your own weak defenses], so that you may be able [it will be possible for you] to resist [to stand firm when he attacks] in the evil day, and having prepared everything [having prepared yourself and yielded to spiritual maturity], to take your stand [stand firm under God’s protection].” Ephesians 6:13 CSB

In other words, Paul is issuing a call to us: we need to wear the right armor into battle.

If we attempt to battle spiritual forces with our own armor of will or determination (our flesh),
we will fail.

If we attempt to withstand the attack of the enemy in any “spiritual” armor of our own making (our works),
we will fail.

If we attempt to defeat the enemy with our understanding, knowledge or intellect (our soul),
we will fail.

But there’s hope! If we heed Paul’s instruction, allow God Himself to clothe us in His armor and grow in our spirit,
we will be able to stand!

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

Join the GT Community and share your thoughts!

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

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

Focus Day 15 Walking With Wisdom

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Read His Words Before Ours!

James 5:13-20
Proverbs 9:1-18
Isaiah 26:1-9

Focus, Day 15

I feel the ground shifting beneath me.
Not in experiencing an earthquake sense, but the reality upon which the past season has rested is moving with the times. I am not the same person I was a year ago.
The people and the circumstances around me have transformed as well. Tiny, almost imperceptible changes over time have led to this point of awareness.

What does tomorrow hold?
What decisions am I to make today?
How do I navigate the unknown and walk out the plans You have for me, Lord?
I wrap my hands around my mug and let the warmth seep into my hands.

Abba, today I pray Your word back to You and rest on its promise. Isaiah 26:3 says You will guard me and keep me in perfect and constant peace when my mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because I’ve committed myself to You, lean on You, and hope confidently in You. (AMP, adapted). Help me do just that, Lord. Help me surrender the future to You and listen for Your leading. Show me Your heart in order to help me find Your hand. For Your glory, Lord. For Your glory.

Tears now drip into my mug. I’ve lovingly been referred to as the Queen of Tears due to my ability to cry, and I bear the title with honor (and hopefully grace!). Today the tears mark my surrender that ushers in freedom. I know Who holds my future and that He has the details covered. While all those details may not be revealed too terribly far in advance, I know He will faithfully guide me along the way.

How do I know this? Because His proven track record in my life cannot be ignored. Over the years, He has walked me through many similar seasons in which His wisdom has paved the way for growth and increased discernment.

Does this mean that every time I approach a new decision, especially ones that feel significantly impactful, that I have no doubts or trouble in making the decision?

No, but I have learned a few key elements that help in the process as I seek the wisdom of the Lord.

Rehearse past decisions and outcomes.
More than likely, I’ve faced a similar decision in the past. It may not be the exact circumstances or feel like a similar scenario, but wisdom grows when we learn from our history. In looking back, I can see how the Lord has guided me. Other times, I have seen how He carried me through choices that may not have been the original plan. I can see how to make a different decision this time, while also holding onto the truth that He will never leave me or forsake me.

Pray.
Process through the decision with the Lord. What are all the elements involved? What are possible outcomes? Share with the Lord the emotions, the challenges, the hopes, etc. I like to pour out my heart to Him. (Psalm 62:8) If you’re anything like me, be sure to keep tissues nearby for this portion of the process.

Read the Word.
What does the Bible say? Are there any possible options the truth of the Word could eliminate? If the choice being made contradicts the Bible, the outcome will be less than desired.

Talk with trusted mentors, family, and friends.
I’m all about learning from others and have found this to be key in growing in wisdom. Countless times a decision has made sense in my mind, but then verbalizing it to someone else with wisdom has opened my eyes to see new perspectives. Others can ask questions to prompt new understanding or share their personal experiences to help me glean from their wisdom.

Listen for His peace.
For me, this is one of the final pieces in seeking and implementing the Lord’s wisdom. As I make a decision, does peace accompany it? This doesn’t mean all nerves go away. Any adventure, even the most positive and hoped-for ones, contain an emotional array of responses. I’m talking about peace at the heart and mind level. Is the Holy Spirit, who dwell within me, pouring out peace to lead me?

Seeking and implementing wisdom is worth the time and energy it takes to find it. I cannot even begin to process all the ways my life has been blessed, and heartache has been saved, due to walking wisely. No, life hasn’t been easy. In fact, making wise choices often result in countercultural decisions that have been difficult. However, time has proven the rich reward of obedience.

Today, my drink has cooled and my nose is now red, but my heart is settled once again in the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord. I did not suddenly get the answers I so desperately wanted, but I found something much more powerful.

I experienced the awareness of His Presence
and the reminder of the promise that He holds tomorrow in His hands.

I’ll keep asking and seeking His wisdom, trusting that once again He will lead me on.
The ground may be shifting, but my hand is solidly in His.
Let’s walk this adventure, Lord. For Your glory.

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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!
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The Questions

1) What does verse 2 and its discussion of stumbling tell us of the Christian life?

2) According to this passage, why is controlling the tongue so important?

3) What is James’ main point in giving the multiple illustrations in verses 9-12?

James 3:1-12

Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is mature, able also to control the whole body.3 Now if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we direct their whole bodies. 4 And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest. 6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members. It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness. 10 Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way. 11 Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.

Original Intent

1) What does verse 2 and its discussion of stumbling tell us of the Christian life?
James doesn’t sugar-coat any of his words, quickly cutting to the core of the matter. Within the space of a few words, God revealed through James’ pen how we are all, without exception, incapable of being flawless and perfect. “We all stumble in many ways”, James says, and with that, he effectively describes the human condition affecting each of us called sin. Sin, being anything that does not align with God’s perfect standard of righteousness, breaks our relationship with God, separating us from real life, causing a rift that is impossible to mend because we simply keep on “stumbling in many ways”. No ability to ever please God, no hope of ever becoming “good enough” to attain right standing before Him, we simply die in our sin, eternally cut off from the God of all life and love and goodness. Right? Exactly right. If it were not for the grace of God who refused to allow eternal separation from Him to be the period for our lives. Instead, He gave Himself to take on our consequence of Death for our Sin, though He never once committed sin. In this flawless sacrifice of atonement, He died our death and defeated Sin forever. So, He extends His offering of redemption to all mankind, all of us who stumble in our sin, all of us who will never be enough, all of us. What must we do to be reconciled to such a loving God? Simply take Him at His word that yes we are sinners, yes He is the Holy God, and yes, we gladly accept His gift of eternal safety by surrendering ourselves to His rule and reign in our life instead of our own.

2) According to this passage, why is controlling the tongue so important?
James gives several reasons as to why submitting to God’s Spirit as He teaches us how to control the tongue is of critical importance. 1) If the tongue can be controlled, it exhibits how that person has long been practicing submitting to God’s direction and will have also learned to control other aspects of his or her life because of the Holy Spirit’s wise counsel. (verse 2) 2) While an uncontrolled tongue exhibits unrighteousness, arrogance, and pride, a controlled tongue that submits to Jesus before self, will reflect the righteous, beautiful, holy things of God. (verses 6 and 8) 3) But perhaps the most crucial reason for why taming the tongue is important is found at the close of this passage, “With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness. Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way!” (verses 9-10)

3) What is James’ main point in giving the multiple illustrations in verses 9-12?
The tongue is like a gauge for our hearts yielding to the control of the Savior versus ourselves. If we say we are believing Christ-followers, and have fully surrendered to Jesus, then our everyday manner of speaking should reflect that heart-choice. Just as Jesus says we cannot serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24), and John says we cannot love God and hate our brother (1 John 4:20), so James says we cannot praise God and curse others who are made in God’s image (James 3:9). Either we are one or the other, but we cannot be both. There is nothing God honoring about praising Him with lips that turn around and gossip, cut down, manipulate, and react in anger. Nothing. James has already spoken of the journey in following Jesus, alluding to how we aren’t “instantly” sanctified and made perfect like Christ, rather it’s a shaping process. These verses are not meant to shame the believer, because in Christ, there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1). Instead, James’ intention is to encourage the lover of God to walk with integrity and allow that love to overwhelm even the small and seemingly insignificant tongue. James emphatically argues how this “little” tongue is exceptionally powerful, and can either be used for righteousness or for evil, depending on which Master we choose to submit it to, the Lord or the enemy.

Everyday Application

1) What does verse 2 and its discussion of stumbling tell us of the Christian life?
James continues with, “If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is mature, able also to control the whole body”. While his opening words define human reality because of sin, this phrase offers hope. It is possible to not stumble, possible to grow up and mature and not only be able to effectively control their tongue, but thereby, also have attained the ability to control the rest of the body as well. What this means for the one who has decided to trust God at His word, choosing to follow Jesus instead of him or herself, is that there is a progression in becoming more like Christ. From the moment we say yes to Jesus, the journey begins that will continue until we reach our eternal reward in Heaven where we will be made completely whole. This journey is the process of God’s Spirit making us new and shaping our hearts to be like His own and it is a process. A long process! While we will never reach “perfection” on earth (because of sin), we can grow up and become mature in Christ. (Ephesians 4:15) Do you see your short-temper, your angry words, the ways you don’t love like you know Jesus does? Do you long to be a better reflection of Christ? Keep seeking Him! He IS making you new! Resist the urge to compare your journey to another’s. God is the author of each heart and He knows exactly how to grow us individually. Trust Him, stop trying so hard to do better and be better on your own. Leave these burdens at the feet of Christ, and trust that He will keep making you new as you keep following Him in obedience.

2) According to this passage, why is controlling the tongue so important?
What we choose to do with our tongue boils down to integrity and Who we have decided to follow and surrender to. If we choose to serve ourselves, then we will continue setting the forests of our relationships ablaze with our anger, our lashing words, our self-righteous talk, and our gossip, caring nothing for anyone but ourselves. We have no hope of escape from this, not truly. Or we can choose to serve and surrender to Christ, and our words will gradually be shaped by the Spirit of God living within us as He changes our hearts and the habits of our tongue to reflect His righteousness. What we cannot do is both. This is living a lie, spreading the poison of evil sin recklessly around us every time we open our mouths. Our own lips will condemn us as we claim to “love God” while also cutting down our children, mocking our spouse, backstabbing our friends, and openly slaying others with our words. The choice is ours, who will we surrender our tongues to? Self or the Savior?

3) What is James’ main point in giving the multiple illustrations in verses 9-12?James paints a pretty vivid picture with his imagery describing the power of the tongue. While we are meant to be convicted of ways we aren’t honoring God with our speech, we are also encouraged because James evidences two clear realities. 1) On our own, it is absolutely impossible to tame the tongue (James 3:8). 2) With God’s power, we can use our tongue for good, for righteous praise, and honorable speech. The difference lies in our power source and in our willingness to submit to the Spirit’s leading, even if we’ve already claimed Jesus as Lord and crossed the line of faith. Living in obedience to the Spirit with our tongue means honoring others with our speech, refusing to gossip, encouraging all who can hear, and regularly allowing praise to flow from our hearts and pass over our tongue and through our lips. As James paints with striking depiction, it is a difficult choice, but we can choose to allow God to reign and rule our tongues instead of ourselves! Choose this day whom you will serve!

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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!

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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 :-))

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