loss

Sketched X Day 1 Family Tree

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Acts 7
Romans 9:6-13
Genesis 37:3-4
Genesis 45:7-8
Genesis 50:19-21

Sketched X, Day 1

On trial before the religious leaders of my community, my life hanging in the balance, I (Stephen, a disciple of the resurrected Christ) recount God’s plan of redemption throughout history. (Acts 6:8-7:53) Through my words, I strive to make clear the purposeful story of God’s people, contained in the overarching narrative of the Old Testament, as shadows and patterns pointing to Christ.

Consider this a shallow, long-distance dive, skimming the surface of the water to get as far as we can, rather than a deep dive. Let’s look at how Joseph’s life and heritage reveal glimpses of Christ, and uncover our part in God’s grand mission as we live out our stories in God’s family tree.

Joseph was the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham. 

Let’s pause here for a second.

If your eyes start to glaze over anytime you reach a Biblical list of “son of”s, let me encourage you to see them as a way to trace God’s promises throughout history. If we remember back to God’s covenant with Abraham, God promised the nations would be blessed through Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3); then we can follow his descendants to the fulfillment of the promise in Christ.

Abraham’s long-awaited son, Isaac, had twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Of the two brothers, Jacob was chosen by God to continue Israel’s national lineage:
“As it is written: I have loved Jacob [Israel], but I have hated Esau [Edom].” (Romans 9:13; Malachi 1:1-3)

Jacob’s life and story are complicated, so for the sake of our skim-dive, let’s skip ahead in his life to his wrestling match with God. In Genesis 32:22-32, we watch Jacob wrestle with God, who changes Jacob’s name to Israel, meaning “he struggled with God.” From Israel descend the Israelites, God’s chosen people, for whom struggling with God would be a continued theme for generations to come.

Israel fathers 12 sons, who father the 12 tribes of Israel. Among these is Joseph, the first-born son of Israel’s beloved wife, Rachel. Although he would endure many trials and tribulations, God used Joseph’s life to preserve the Israelite people, and he experienced great restoration in his family relationships. Eventually, Joseph assures his brothers, “You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people.” (Genesis 50:20)

We typically don’t see or understand what God is doing behind the scenes of our lives. But, like Joseph, we can confidently believe He is trustworthy, and will bring good in the midst of the worst situations when we surrender ourselves to Him. He is altogether sovereign, wise, and loving; He works all things according to His plan and purpose of redemption. (Romans 8:28)

My voice wavers as my own words sink into my spirit. Casting a glance around me, I see a few listening intently despite their best intentions; everyone else is livid. Off to the side, one Pharisee is surrounded by a group of younger men, a sneer twisting his face. His gaze burns into mine, and I know how this encounter will end.

Do I believe my own testimony? I don’t understand how my violent death will bring good . . . but I know my God. He is trustworthy, sovereign, wise, and loving. I will follow Him wherever He leads, even to the stoning pit outside the city gates.
I take a deep breath, and return to my sermon.

We’ve barely skimmed the surface in our dive.
Through Joseph, the Israelites would settle in Egypt,
which led to the Israelites’ eventual enslavement,
which led to God’s miraculous rescue,
which led to their wandering in the desert,
which led to them receiving the 10 commandments,
which led to their continual failure and inability to uphold God’s law.

The Israelites’ continual failure to meet the standard of God’s law points to their need for a Savior. The overarching story of the Bible climaxes at the arrival of the Messiah, Jesus, the Son of God, who lived a perfect life to fulfill the righteous requirement of the law that we could not.

Not only did He live a perfect life, but He died on the cross to pay the penalty we deserve for our sins. (2 Corinthians 5:20-21) Because of Christ’s substitution in our place, we can receive forgiveness and have a relationship with God, Our Sovereign Creator, if we respond in repentance, faith, and obedience.

Since we barely skimmed the surface of the Old Testament, I encourage you to continue to hold up Old Testament stories next to Christ’s and see how everything points to Jesus, our Coming Hope. If we are in Christ, we are part of this amazing family tree from Adam to Abraham, Joseph, and Moses, and all who will receive the Promised Land and inheritance for eternity with Christ.

My breath comes in shallow wheezes as the stones pummel my body; I can feel broken ribs sabotaging my efforts to breathe. Mine is not a dignified death, but I do not regret unashamedly proclaiming God’s sovereign goodness and truth, even knowing it has cost my life. My head falls to the ground, and I taste blood and silt. My vision darkens, blotting out the mob before me until I am blinded by a light from the heavens. Home is on the horizon.

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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!

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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!

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The GT Weekend! ~ Wilderness Week 1

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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) We began our Journey Into Wilderness with an easily forgotten Old Testament wanderer, Cain. Perhaps you’ve never read his story, or maybe you only think of him as the murderer who jealously killed his own brother. Maybe, like me, you’ve never considered how your wilderness may have reflections of Cain’s wanderings. Remembering that every story in the whole of Scripture is meant to point toward the grander narrative of the Lord Jesus’ rescue for sinners and His magnificent love for them, how can you see God’s gracious love toward both Cain and Abel? (read their full story in Genesis 4) We may want to excuse ourselves from the wrecking shame and damage of sin, by claiming we’ve never done “that”, where “that” is our “unthinkable deed”. In doing this, however, we easily gloss over our other sins. None of us can be excused from the deadly price tag of sin. All sin breaks relationship, no matter how large or small. As you reflect on Cain’s story this weekend, ask the Lord to convict you of sin. Then take the next step and bravely confess that sin to another fellow believer and ask them to hold you accountable in not choosing that sin.

2) On Wednesday, Paula provided us with comparison between our lives and embroidery work. The backside is a seeming disarray of crisscrossed, zig-zagging threads jumbled, cut, and tied in a ridiculous maze. Only when flipping over the final product can we make out the lovely scene produced by the apparent tangling of threads. What scenes of your life feel, or have felt, chaotic, mismatched, and meaningless? As you reflect on these, what emotions are the strongest? Put names to them and think about the pains involved in those scenarios. Considering Job’s losses in the areas of health, friendships, wealth, respect, and family, which ones most closely connect with your story? Job’s pain ran deeper than he ever anticipated, as evidenced by his desire for death and his wish to have never been born. Still, he refused to curse God, and insisted the Lord was sovereign and good. What truths will you adamantly cling to as you re-frame your wilderness season? Are these truths reliable? How do you know? Spend time in this weekend reading Job 38-42 and glean stabilizing truths!

3) “If I become a Christian, my life should be easy, successful, and enjoyable.” This is an easy misconception to fall into, but we only need to briefly read Scripture to understand that belief system isn’t supported by biblical teaching. If Christ Jesus, as God the Son, entered the Wilderness, was persecuted, threatened, disowned, mocked, ridiculed, and torturously killed, why would His followers expect to be treated royally with a life of ease? Why would anyone decide to commit their lives to following this kind of Savior? Have you asked yourself this question? Amazingly, our reasons for why we follow are layered into Jesus’ wilderness experience. He holds all authority. Though He took on human flesh, and chose humanity, He still retained His deity. At any point during His wilderness Jesus could have ended Satan’s attacks and sent him packing. But He didn’t. He chose suffering again and again, so He could be our personal Savior. The God who holds all authority also loves with empathetic compassion having lived humanity like us, but was without sin, unlike us. In incredible love, He did what we could not accomplish on our own, and He holds out this gift freely for all. Yes, following this Savior is worth everything.

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 Job 23:10-12 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold. My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept to His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commands from His lips; I have treasured the words from His mouth more than my daily food.

Prayer Journal
Lord Jesus, I am a mess. My heart loves myself. My circumstances are a swirling mess of puzzle pieces. I get lost in alternating waves of doubt and trust for You. My faith is weak. This pressing on all sides wears me thin. Still, in all of this, Your Word says I am known. My ways are known by You. My brokenness, my weariness, my doubts, fears, and desperate places as I wander this wilderness are all known by You. Lord, my God, my only Hope in life or death, You promise to bring me forth through all of this as pure gold. Lord, what a breathtaking wonder! What an astounding, attentive, loving Sovereign! My Jesus, remind me of this truth when I’m tempted to only fix my attention on my surroundings. You are worthy of my constant praise! May my heart learn to worship and trust You alone in this process of refinement!

Worship Through Community

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Wilderness Day 3 Job’s Wilderness & My Own

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Job 19:25-27
Job 23:10-17
Job 42:5-17
Psalm 18:25-36
1 Peter 1:3-9

Wilderness, Day 3

Life is like embroidery work.

A piece of embroidery has two sides, two stories stitched simultaneously. The back is often a tangle of knots and strings, giving only a faint suggestion of the front image. Our life on earth is like the back of that piece, while God is creating a magnificent work of art on the other side; a stunning, eternal masterpiece.

Tucked away in the Old Testament lies a remarkable story that mirrors this sort of heavenly embroidery: the story of our brother Job and his staggering loss. His struggles challenge his understanding of God and leave him with more questions than answers.

Before we reach the end of chapter one, we find him stunned and grief-stricken. (Job 1) Job had recently placed the lifeless bodies of all 10 of his children in their graves. In the space of a few hours, he became a dweller of the surreal Land of Loss all grievers know well. In this land, nothing matters but the gaping wound and the ever-present pain.

The dust settles and Job’s questions arise.

“Why was I not stillborn;
Why didn’t I die as I came from the womb? [. . .]
Why is light given to one burdened with grief,
And life to those whose existence is bitter,
Who waits for death, but it does not come [. . .]
I have no rest, for turmoil has come.” (Job 3:11, 20-21, 26)

Wealth can be rebuilt, illness treated. Children cannot be replaced. Yet these priceless treasures were unceremoniously ripped away in a freak accident.

Job had no explanation. He was not privy to the conversations between God and Satan relayed in the text. (Job 1:6-12, Job 2:1-7) His confusion is warranted; His understanding of God and His ways were just body-slammed.

Like Job, our finite minds conclude our all-powerful, compassionate God can and should stop all suffering; yet, He doesn’t. We all have scars to prove it. Any notion suggesting God miraculously delivers His own from painful trials is patently false. (John 16:33)

So, in the quiet back channels of our soul, the unending “why” rises like a mist. Our suffering doesn’t make sense; He doesn’t make sense.

We’re reminded of the back of the embroidery work, where life is mostly a confusion of outlines, knots, and strings. Truthfully, Job never received answers to the questions haunting his sleepless nights, and we may not, either. Still, truth remains; God acts for His holy and eternal purposes. (Isaiah 40:12-14, 21-26)

I have spent ample time in the ash-heap of grief. Our brother Job buried ten children; I buried one. During my sojourn into loss, several stabilizing mindsets emerged, anchoring my soul with solid hope. Solid hope, I found, resides in solid truth—the truth of Scripture. As I began the practice of marinating my soul in Scripture, I came to know God as my Companion and Friend. The more deeply I knew Him, the more I trusted Him, which empowered tenacious devotion, gritty faith, and audacious obedience. (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

Frankly, were it not for my solid foundation of truth, I would not have survived Matthew’s long-term illness and death with my faith intact.

Though my anchor held fast, I too, wrestled through puzzling contradictions and unanswered questions. However, through the pain and confusion, this truth rose in an ever-present whisper: life on earth is not our only. Eternity awaits just beyond, through the veil of time and space.

As I await eternity, I find encouragement in Apostle Paul’s words:

“Therefore, we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

This truth gave perspective and purpose for the pain, while infusing a deeply-abiding, grounded hope and true joy for the reality of eternity.

This solid relationship with God empowered me to face life with unanswered questions, much like our brother Job. In the dark night of my soul, He whispered, “I see you; I am with you. I’m doing something deep and beautiful. Trust Me.” His words were mostly about trust and relationship; very little was said about changing circumstances in my favor.

Through the loneliness and desperation rose quiet, peaceful intimacy. He became my treasure and joy. I became fruitful, even in the place of pain. Knowing my Jesus was in control, holding my boys and I in His arms, became enough for me. I could maneuver through the knots and strings, knowing Who was creating a masterpiece on the flip-side.

Though we live on the backside now, when we see Him, He will flip the embroidery piece. We will be stunned at the masterpiece He created from what we only knew as tangled knots and strings. How could we imagine He’s been working all along, refining gold through our painful trials, weaving glistening threads through our darkest days, and crafting delicate, priceless jewels from our deepest sorrows.

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

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Here’s a link to all past studies in Wilderness!

Enough Day 5 Prophet & Priest

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Isaiah 28:7-8
Jeremiah 5:21-31
Ecclesiastes 7:20
Romans 3:10-12
Ephesians 2:1-3

Enough, Day 5

“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12)

At the moment of choosing self over God in the Garden of Eden, mankind’s sweet and intimate communion with God was shredded to tatters. Rebellious thought became disobedient action, and instantly, horrifyingly, a gulf of sin yawned eternity-wide between Father and children.

But God.

In His unbroken love and unending mercy, He designed a way to remain in relationship with His children, a system that left His justice undefiled.

The sins of the people required payment, and so He established the priesthood, a lineage set apart to approach a holy God on behalf of a sin-riddled nation.

Descendants of Aaron (Moses’ brother) would dedicate themselves to upholding meticulously stringent rules for offering countless sacrifices to cover countless sins.

Aside from sin offerings, priests would oversee
burnt offerings,
grain offerings,
guilt offerings,
and fellowship offerings, to name a few.
The people of Israel would now relate to their God at a distance, through ritual.

Sin would separate their spirits.

The tabernacle, maintained by the tribe of Levi, would separate their physical presences. The people would remain outside, while God’s presence resided within the Holy of Holies, the tabernacle’s innermost sanctuary. Only the high priest, after strenuous cleansing rituals and offerings to cover every possible sin, was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies as a shadowed, hollow mediator between God and man.

“You must distinguish between the holy and the common,” God directed the priests, “and the clean and the unclean, and teach the Israelites all the statues that the Lord has given to them through Moses”. (Leviticus 10:10-11)

But the priests were not immune to mankind’s legacy of sin, and almost immediately, they became corrupt, continuing in their sinful nature of grubbing around in darkness rather than living holy before the Lord God.

Leadership roles, including that of high priest, were sold to the highest bidder or, later, appointed at the whim of foreign political leaders. Priests either taught from their own wisdom or put their authority up for sale (Micah 3:11), leading the people astray and violating their covenant work. (Malachi 2:8)

Finally, even before the dust of Egypt could fall from their shoes, Aaron commanded the Israelites to fashion and worship a golden calf as their one, true God. Again and again, priests sanctioned the casting of idols and the worship of false and foreign gods over the One True God. (2 Kings 17:16-17)

The cycle was unbroken, endless, despairing. No sacrifice made by man could provide permanent absolution; no spilled blood of an animal could transform the people’s sinful nature. (Hebrews 10:4)

God’s judgement was unequivocal, His words condemning their sin as a tragic echo of His commission:

“Her priests do violence to my instructions and profane my holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they do not explain the difference between the clean and the unclean. They close their eyes to my Sabbath, and I am profaned among them.” (Ezekiel 22:26)

Moved to action by a generation of priests who stole offerings meant for the Lord, threatened violence against the people they were meant to lead, and sexually abused women who served in the tabernacle (1 Samuel 2:12-17, 22), God called a young boy to serve as His voice to Israel.

Thus began the age of prophets in Israel’s history, men and women who were called to approach a sin-riddled nation on behalf of a holy God. Some were people of incredible faithfulness, honor, and endurance, whose own words foreshadowed the Word made flesh.

In fact, much of the Old Testament has been dedicated to prophets’ exhortations.

But even prophets were not immune to the gnarled fingers of sin curling around their spirits.

Like the Israelites all the way back to Adam and Eve,
like the priests before and alongside them,
like every single human after them, some began to choose self over God.

What “prophetic” message would garner the most political favor?
What message would bring financial gain, or community stature?
What message would bring physical satisfaction, pleasure, or ease?
Then surely, that message was intended for God’s children . . . regardless of whether it bore any resemblance to His words.

As with the priests, God spoke out against false prophets:
“Because you have disheartened the righteous person with lies (when I intended no distress), and because you have supported the wicked person so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life, therefore you will no longer see false visions or practice divination. I will rescue my people from your hands. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel 13:22-23)

. . . and eventually, the true prophets fell silent. For hundreds of years, Israel heard nothing from God. Never before had He seemed so distant, so separate.

No man, hopelessly bound in the sticky, spidery web of sin and death could free himself, save his people, and stand blameless before God (Ephesians 2:1-3).

Not priests.
Not judges, or kings, or elders.
Not prophets.
Not you, or me.

Where, then, does our hope lie? What sacrifice, what true High Priest, could be enough to break, once and for all, sin’s death-grip on our spirits?

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Enough Day 1 Creation’s Groan

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Genesis 2:15-17
Genesis 3:1-24
Leviticus 16:1-34
Hebrews 10:1-4

Enough, Day 1

One small act changed everything. Once Adam and Eve tasted the fruit, there was no way back to the innocence they had previously known.

At first glance, it seems like such a small transgression – just a bite of fruit – but at its heart, it was a rejection of God. It was “no” to Him, and “yes” to self, and in one brief moment, God’s “very good” creation was broken.

Before that dreadful moment, Adam and Eve had enjoyed an open and trusting relationship with God and one another, the sweet fellowship of walking together in the garden unafraid and unashamed. But their act of rebellion opened the door to fear and shame. Trust and intimacy gave way to hiding and separation.

The consequences were severe: ejection from the garden, and a curse of sin left as the legacy for all generations to come, ultimately leading to both physical and spiritual death.

“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12)

It is a tragic tale. How Adam and Eve must have wished they could turn back the clock and make a different choice, but there was nothing they could do!

But, even there in the garden, we see a faint glimmer of hope. Whereas God could have destroyed Adam and Eve, or abandoned them to the path they had chosen, instead He sought them out and gave them a tantalising glimpse of a day in the future when One would come, the offspring of a woman, who would crush the serpent’s head, defeating sin and evil forever.

Before they were banished from the garden for good, God also provided Adam and Eve with clothes made from skins. An innocent animal was sacrificed to cover their shame.

This was the first sacrifice, but it pointed ahead to God’s instructions given to Moses at Mount Sinai many years later. In the generations since Adam and Eve, the story of the Bible had been one of people’s sinfulness and God’s faithfulness. When we join Moses on Mount Sinai, God has led His people out of slavery in Egypt, and they are headed to the land He has promised them, but the issue of sin remains. Nonetheless, God still wants a relationship with His sinful people, and so a sacrificial system is instituted.

The book of Leviticus describes it in detail. There were burnt offerings, grain offerings, sin offerings, guilt offerings . . . all involved sacrifice, and most required spilled blood. A flawless animal had to be slaughtered to pay the price for the people. It was not a simple matter for a sinful people to approach a holy God.

“According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22)

Despite these regular offerings, there was still the need for the Day of Atonement once a year, when the High Priest would enter the Most Holy Place where God’s presence resided. First, the priest would slaughter a bull as an offering for his own sins and those of his family; then, he had to sacrifice a goat on behalf of the people.

A second goat was chosen to be a scapegoat. The High Priest would lay his hand on the goat’s head and confess the sins of the people, symbolically transferring their sins onto the goat. The goat would then be driven out into the wilderness as a sign of the people’s sins being carried away.

The sacrificial system provided a way to approach God, but it also presented a vivid illustration of the severity of sin and the separation it brought. Romans 6:23 states that “the wages of sin is death,” and the people were reminded of this devastating truth on a regular basis as they brought their sacrifices to God, again . . . and again . . . and again.

No matter how fervently they resolved to do better next time, they always sinned again, so the sacrifices reminded them not only of their sin and its consequences, but also of the inadequacy of the sacrifices to permanently cover their sin.

Sacrifices provided a temporary solution, but Hebrews 10:4 explains “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

What then was the answer?
Where would this serpent-crusher come from, and Who would it be?

Creation groaned as it waited for God’s plan to be revealed and for His solution to come.

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

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Sketched V Day 15 Paul, The Legacy Leaver

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Philippians 1:18-30
1 Peter 5:6-11
Ephesians 3:14-21

Sketched V, Day 15

“Paul, Paul!”
The kind, prodding voice called a welcome down into the inky blackness.
“Brother, it’s Luke.”
Luke plunged his hand into the dank hole in the floor where he knew I sat below, locked inside the lower level of the Mamertine Prison under the fast-paced streets of Italy.

Nero’s iron fisted rule of Rome and his bloodthirsty hatred of Christians had finally landed me here. “Prison”, up until this point, had generally meant “house arrest”. Limited mobility, and chained almost constantly to a Roman guard, but still, the Lord had granted me freedom to write and continue teaching and encouraging churches.

But this prison cell was different.
Marked men like me were brought here short-term, for one purpose: execution.

There was that time Silas and I had been bound together in a cell.
I smiled at the warmth of the memory as I stretched my hand to reach Luke’s above me.
Brothers bound by the gospel.
A gospel that was free despite my chains!

Silas and I had sung together late into the night before the Lord had sent an earthquake to break our physical chains and free the jailer from his spiritual ones. Melodies of rich grace, the deity of Christ, and the unfathomable truth that God had come in the flesh to rescue us.
I grinned, grabbing Luke’s hand and began in a rambling, throaty voice, “He is the image of the invisible God…”
“The firstborn of all creation”, Luke finished the line for me in his lighter voice and back and forth we went.
“For by Him all things were created….”
“In heaven and on earth…”
“Visible and invisible..”
Onward through the glorious mysteries of Christ we sang until we reached the refrain.
Now singing lustily with tears streaming down both our faces at the wonder of it all, “and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.”

The cavernous, stout room amplified our voices making us feel as if we were only 1 voice among hundreds.
“Peace by the blood of His cross.”
The hush enveloped us as words ceased. We squeezed hands and let go, fingers nearly numb as we had stretched to reach the other.

We both knew the days were ending for my pilgrimage here.
My tent of a body would soon lay motionless aside Ostian Road outside of Rome. For a Roman citizen like myself, crucifixion was considered too inhumane, so beheading would take my final breath.
It would be a quick death.
I’d known much worse suffering in the years before now.

Finally, I was going Home.
Home to see again the face of Jesus who had appeared to me so long ago on that road to Damascus.
“I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of My name”, Christ had told Ananias the day I became blinded.

And suffer I had, but now, now I was nearly Home!
I would have done it all again for “these light and momentary troubles were achieving for me a glory that was unfathomably rich.” The life I’d lived here in the body, I had lived for Christ as I’d sought to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified. Dead to sin. Alive to Christ.

And now, here I was under the streets, awaiting my final new birth.
The thought of it bubbled up inside me as if I were a young man again and I couldn’t help the chortle of laughter from coming out and echoing around me.

“Paul? Are you… laughing?!” Luke’s incredulous voice belayed a teasing smirk.
He knew me well enough to know that of course I would be laughing.
Nero thought he had me, thought he had killed the Church, but what could possibly end what the Lord had determined would be?! It was as ludicrous as saying there would be an end to the love of the Father. Outlandish!
Nothing could separate us from the love of God, and I told Luke as such.
To which he responded, “neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth…”
I chimed in victoriously, “nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the Love of God!”

The echoes hammered around us again before fading.
“I will miss you, brother,” said Luke, and I heard his voice catch in the darkness above me.
I reached my hand out again.
That sting of death.
Soon I would gaze upon the glory of the Lord, waking up to endless day, the fullness of God realized in a resurrected body and renewed purposes yet unknown to me, but Luke would still be here, journeying onward. Without me.

“For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ
this will turn out for my deliverance.”
Remember that line in the letter I penned to the Philippians, Luke?
How I love those brothers and sisters!
Their prayers buoyed me as the Spirit strengthened me through them.

“Yes, I remember,” mused Luke thoughtfully. “Deliverance….”, his voice trailing off and his thoughts drifting to a day when suffering would end.

“Brother! You must keep running! Your race is not over yet, but one day it will be.
With full courage now as always
Christ must be honored in our bodies,
whether by life or by death.
As Barnabas encouraged us often with the imagery of a ‘great cloud of witnesses’ cheering us on from glories above, be encouraged you are not alone.
Keep running, brother.
Christ is worth it.
Hold fast to the word of life, Luke, so that in the day of Christ you may be proud that you did not run in vain or labor in vain.”

I felt Luke’s sadness linger, but a steadfast determination filled us both.
We weren’t the first to face the temporary separation of death, or the grand welcome home awaiting us. Brother Peter had traveled Home just a few months before, spending his last days in this same cell. My heart shook for grief at the loss, but then revived nearly immediately with the knowledge I would soon see him whole and healthy as well. Home, I was almost there.

Peter’s words came to me through the Spirit and I lifted my face to speak truth firmly over Luke as an embrace, “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

In His mysterious way, the gracious Lord raised our spirits beyond the walls of my confinement, binding us together, reminding us of His mission, strengthening us for the pilgrimage ahead. The unity of His Spirit is unspeakable!
We would each keep running on our journey toward Home, full of faith given by the Father.

Luke leaned his face down as close to the portal as possible, and with a voice full of jubilant victory declared, “To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
“And Amen!”

To live is Christ…
To die is gain.
Come, Lord Jesus, Come!
~
We don’t know for certain of Paul’s last days on earth, but historical tradition leaves us with a decent idea. Paul was likely released from house arrest for an undetermined time and then captured again by Nero and placed in the Mamertine prison for a handful of days before execution by beheading. We don’t know if Luke was with him, but his letters to Timothy give a good indication he was. We do know for certain, Paul died a free man on his way Home.
Free because who the Son sets free, is free indeed.
He lived his life for Christ and encourages us, the Church, you and me as sisters, to keep running the race marked out for us, until we too are finally Home!

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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!

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 V Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Worship IV, Day 8 Relentless Worship

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Read His Words Before Ours!

I Samuel 1-2:10
Psalm 31:19-24
Matthew 5:43-48
Romans 8:18-30
Lamentations 3:22-26

Worship IV, Day 8

Do you remember begging for a certain gift as a child?
What was it like when you received it?
Or didn’t?
Were you disappointed or was it exactly as you imagined?

What about now?
Is there something you desire more than anything?
Something you’re waiting for God to deliver?

When I’m feeling disappointed about unfulfilled desires, I think of Hannah.
Hannah was married to Elkanah, husband of two wives.
Peninnah, the other wife, had plenty of children, but Hannah, shamefully, was barren.
Adding to her heavy shame, Peninnah provoked Hannah, mocking her empty womb.
Oh, that hits your gut doesn’t it?!

Have you been in her shoes?
Maybe you’re Hannah with the ache, marked by shame, carrying shards of broken dreams,
dragging around lost hope.
Or perhaps you’ve worn Peninnah’s shoes a few times too, provoking just to stir up trouble, finding a sense of satisfaction in what you have instead of another’s “have nots”.

Each year the family traveled to Jerusalem for worship.
This particular year Hannah was so distressed, she refused food.

I see much of myself in Hannah.
I too have carried shame and broken dreams, losing hope along the way.
I too have had a “Peninnah” in my life, so distressed I hurt.
Hannah responded as each of us should, she worshipped through prayer.

Broken, empty, hungry, and weeping Hannah entered the temple, and bowed before the One True God
and worshipped. (1 Samuel 1:10)
Hannah opened her heart to her God, praying God would remove her shame and fulfill her dreams.
She asked God for a son, promising to relinquish him back to God for service in the temple his entire life.
Eli, the priest, saw her, was moved by her worship, and spoke the Lord’s word to her,
she would have a son!

Some time later, Hannah held her fulfilled promise in her arms, naming him Samuel, meaning “God Has Heard.”

No longer marked by shame and lost dreams, Hannah held the little boy hand of her dream-come-true, entrusting him to the Lord as she left him at the temple to serve the Lord.
Later, her dream son, given back in worship to the Lord, would become a wise judge and humble prophet, mighty in spirit, leading Israel.
Happily Ever After.
The End.

No, Hannah’s story does not stop here.
I’ll be honest, I usually stop here.
But if we close the book in chapter 1, we miss the pinnacle of Hannah’s heart in chapter 2.
We miss her worship.
Hannah continued a hymn of worship that had been her relentless song from the moment she first cried out to her God.

In verse one, Hannah rejoiced in God.
She did not rejoice in Samuel.

She rejoiced in the Giver, not the gift.
In fact, in all of Hannah’s prayer, she didn’t specifically name Samuel even once,
instead she focused on the character of the God who had heard her.

Hannah rejoices in her “horn.”
Just as the horn of a bull signifies its strength, Hannah declared that the Lord had removed her disgrace and weakness, replacing it with His own mighty strength.

Was Hannah strengthened because she could prove her value to Peninnah?
No, her strength was God.

Speaking of Peninnah, is she even mentioned?
No, because Hannah didn’t need to.
She didn’t carry bitterness and slander because worship had shifted her focus.

I wonder if we let worship shift our hearts as well?
In the midst of everyday life, will we relentlessly worship or relentlessly slander and self-focus, eager to return hurt for hurt, carrying the burdens of bitterness and un-forgiveness.
Hannah’s example proves we can’t worship and grudge-carry.

Verse 5 of Hannah’s song declares, “Those who are hungry have ceased to hunger.”
God was Hannah’s sole supplier.
This wasn’t about physical food, Hannah was hungry for relief.
She was hungry for her shame to be lifted and her emptiness to be filled.
What are you hungry for?

We know the ending of Hannah’s story.
We know she was freed from shame and filled with the Lord Himself.
We don’t know our story’s end.

We ask, will I ever be delivered?
Will I always be empty?

Scripture answers,
“Because of the Lord’s faithful love
we do not perish,
for His mercies never end.
They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness!
I say, “The Lord is my portion,
therefore I will put my hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24

Hannah wasn’t faithful to God because He was faithful to her;
she chose relentless worship before He answered her prayer.
Hannah prayed for years.
She worshipped for years.
Yet, she didn’t give up.

We may not receive exactly what we desire or when we desire it,
but our faithful God will deliver, free, fill us.
Until then, we relentlessly worship!

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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!

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Looking for other journeys from this theme?
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Roads Day 15 The Road Home

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Read His Words Before Ours!

John 14:1-7
Matthew 7:13-14
Jeremiah 14:14-16
2 Timothy 4:3-4 

Roads, Day 15

“God, HELP me! Why can’t I HEAR You?!” 
Angry tears filled my eyes and I swallowed hard, slamming towels into the washing machine so quickly they tangled into a big wad. Shrieks reached my ears as I wrestled with the laundry, and in my frustration, I slammed my little toe into the dryer as I turned to shush my two oldest so they wouldn’t wake their sleeping little brother. 

I’d be lying if I said an unpleasant word didn’t hiss across my lips. (Sorry, but it’s truth…and I’ll bet if you are being honest, you might be able to relate.) 

“You aren’t listening, Love. Your attention is divided.” 
His gentle nudge in my spirit sparked fresh tears. He was right. 

It had been a long day week year. The temperature outside was frigid, and with three little ones under four, I could count on one hand the number of days when every person in our little tribe had been healthy… in over two months.
I loved being a wife and mama, but between those two most important roles, the demands of my growing business, various ministry commitments, a part time job, and maintaining family relationships, I found myself incapable of focusing on a single task (or person) for even a few minutes. I couldn’t give 100% to anyone or anything.

I was tapped out. Emotionally. Mentally. Spiritually.  

And truth? I was pretty angry with myself…and maybe at God a little, too.
I couldn’t understand why He seemed so silent through everything.
I was reading my Bible.
I spent time in prayer and worship.
But, for a while now, He had seemed… uncharacteristically quiet.

Having experienced the loss of our first daughter and His supernatural peace and comfort through that time a few years prior, I was frustrated that such seemingly trivial issues affected me like this. …and that He wasn’t showing up as I expected. 

His soft correction was on point.
I had been so busy juggling ALL OF THE THINGS,
that nothing and no one was getting the best, or even most, of me.  

Have you been there, Sister? Are you there? 
So overwhelmed that you just… can’t?  

And here’s the million dollar question, Love.
Looking past all of that, are you still 100% committed to following Christ?
Through the mundane as well as the mountains?  

A while back, a friend and I were somewhat casually discussing faith and eternity.
As our discourse turned to another religious perspective that was outside biblical salvation by grace through faith, my friend asserted,
“Well, whatever makes them happy. 
As long as it isn’t hurting anyone, what’s the harm, right?”  

Stunned, I said nothing, and as she changed topics, the moment was lost. 

What’s the harm, right? 
Her words still echo in my mind.
How I wish I had spoken truth in love to her at that moment. 

I wish I’d told her the harm has eternal ramifications.
I wish I’d  told her the harm is that, as Christ followers, we know there is only one road which assures salvation for eternity.
There is only one road holding the hope of a future which far outshines our sin-stained past. There is only one road offering us healing and forgiveness, righteousness, and adoption into God’s family. 

One narrow road, and His name is Jesus. 

Not our own righteousness,
nor how we think we should act or be,
nor any other thing, but JESUS. 

Are we willing to receive some challenge today, Loves? 

This is not a popular truth to tell in this day and age. 
We live in a world where “live and let live,” and “do whatever makes you happy” rules.
Comfort is king.
While we are encouraged to “speak our truth,” those who shout this mantra the loudest,
are often the first to hush us when THE Truth is what we speak.  

Just like my own failure to speak truth in the moment Holy Spirit provided with my friend, many of us fail to give 100% to the people He has placed in our circles.  

Look, I get it.
Living our beliefs out there for the world to see in real life is HARD.
It’s much, much easier to stay in our little Sunday bubble and post faith-influenced social media status updates once or twice a week and never actually get in the dirt to love the people He has tasked us to love. 

But…what about that mimics the Christ we profess to believe in, love and follow? 

As followers of Christ and daughters of God…
We know we are heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven.
We know this world is not our home.
But we also know we are tasked to bring His Kingdom here… which includes sharing the truth in love with whomever God places in our path.
These opportunities to share are the most important part 
of our journey as we travel the road Home. (read: Heaven) 

No, not preaching on every corner or issuing condemnation and judgement.
It isn’t a “one and done” kind of deal.
Rather, we are challenged to actively love others, continually and invitationally.   

Invite them into our lives and homes and hearts. 
Invite them into our community and demonstrate Christ’s love in word, action and deed. 
Build real relationships so when Holy Spirit prompts us to speak the truth in love,
we can do it with grace. 

When we commit to giving our whole attention and focus to whatever He hands us, we free ourselves to be obedient and experience His fullness.
Even in the mountains and the mundane.
THIS is our purpose, our calling, and our joy!
To live out this Gospel as we travel the road Home! 

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Don’t miss today’s Digging Deeper!     And we’d love to hear your thoughts from today’s Journey!    Comment Here!

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 Roads Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Sketched IV Day 7 Samson: 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 Samson!

The Questions

1) What is the “therefore” referring to?

2) What was the “thorn” in Paul’s flesh?

3) How is it possible to take pleasure in weakness, insult, hardship, persecution, and difficulty?

2 Corinthians 12:7b-10

…Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself. 8 Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.”

Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. 10 So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Original Intent

1) What is the “therefore” referring to?
One of the biggest clues for studying Scripture well is wrapped up in this word: therefore. When reading, always look back to see what the author is referencing, literally asking what is “therefore” “there” “for”? When we look back a few verses, we read a potentially confusing text about Paul, who he refers to as “a man” in the 3rd person. Scholars generally agree that this “man” was indeed Paul himself, but downplayed it because the whole paragraph emphasized Paul’s own weakness, not his greatness. “The man” was caught up in a vision from the Lord and was blessed “to see and hear” things too wonderful to even express. Paul was literally beyond-words-speechless at the breathtaking majesty of the vision he received. He used this glorious experience to point out that no matter what wonderful things he had seen or what glories he knew, he still had zero reason to boast about Himself. The vision given to Paul wasn’t about Paul’s glory or edification, it was intended to steadfastly point to the beyond-words-description of the Majesty of the Lord God! After seeing the Lord in His glory, “therefore”, he couldn’t possibly boast about himself or his experience. Paul knew firsthand that everything was rubbish except Christ and Christ alone!

2) What was the “thorn” in Paul’s flesh?
When studying Scripture, it can be so easy to focus in on one particular detail, or a handful of words that really don’t sit well with us that we end up missing the whole point of that passage. When studying, remember to back up first. Read through the entire chapter, or a couple of chapters, making notes of what the big-picture is. What key phrases or themes are often repeated? For this particular section, Paul has been addressing the Corinthian church. On one hand, he is giving them solid reasons as to why he has the Lord’s authority as a true apostle, therefore they would be wise to listen to his instruction. But, at the same time, he is saying that none of the “clout” of accomplishment or “authority” means anything at all to him. Paul insists that it is only knowing Christ that ultimately matters. Even so, Paul admits how easy it can be to fall into human vanity and pride. This being true, the Lord gave Paul a “thorn in the flesh”. Was it an eye problem as some scholars suggest? Was it a physical sickness? Was it an emotional weakness? We have no idea…and that is exactly the point. Scripture records this “thorn” vaguely that we might understand with greater emphasis how none of our accomplishments are worth boasting in on our own strength. 

3) How is it possible to take pleasure in weakness, insult, hardship, persecution, and difficulty?
Strange words, aren’t they? Paul says, “I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Though the words certainly don’t appear to be very encouraging or comforting, the secret of their veracity is cocooned in the middle with one phrase: “for the sake of Christ”. For Paul, for Samson (when he finally “got it” at the end of his life), for Ezekiel (who gave up his life as bizarre illustrations for God’s purposes), for Isaiah (who was killed by being sawed in half), for Peter (who was killed by upside down crucifixion), and for countless others all the way through history, this key phrase has changed everything. “For The Sake Of Christ” Why? Because we are weak. Because we are finite. And He, the Lord God, is not. He is mighty, He is glorious, He is everlasting, He is victorious! Because He Is Worth It!

Everyday Application

1) What is the “therefore” referring to?
Likely, you, like me, haven’t experienced a glorious vision of Christ and His indescribable majesty and power in the same way Paul did, or Isaiah, Ezekiel, or John, but the Lord and His glory is not hidden away waiting, hoping, that you will be able to find Him. His glory is seen in the intricacies of creation, the beauty of relationships, the community of the Church, and in the wonder of a child. Experiencing His glory is meant for 2 things. One, to encourage and comfort us, as He reminds us that we are not alone and He is for us. Two, to expand our desire to search after Him; longing, hungering, thirsting for so much more of Him! As anyone who has truly experienced the Lord knows, the only proper response is worship. Whole life worship. Worship that points steadfastly to the glorious, risen Lord Jesus Christ because we know, we know, we know, that the real life offered by Jesus, is not about us, it’s about Christ and Christ alone! If you’re feeling a little stuck in your walk with the Lord, or maybe you’re curious about this whole “everyday Savior” we like to talk about, take time to slow down, reflect on how you’ve already experienced Him. Silence your thoughts and welcome His voice enough to hear how He wants to take you deeper to know Him better! 

2) What was the “thorn” in Paul’s flesh?
For Samson in yesterday’s Journey Study, his greatest downfall was that he trusted in his own strength. Even when he had given away the secret of his strength and lost his supernatural ability, he still fully believed he could take down the enemies exactly as he had done before, but this time on his own power. Samson epically failed in this endeavor. God had given Samson incredible abilities, just as He had given Paul indescribable visions of glory, and just like He offers Himself to each of us in tender, glorious, intimate sweetness, but the moment we shift our eyes from the majestic glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, we will find our eyes locked onto our own glory. We have traded the worship of the One True God for a “god” of our own making, and it will never be worth it. For Samson, the “thorn in the flesh” was his loss of strength as well as his vision. It was through these “thorns” that he was finally able to see that the Lord wanted more with Samson; He wanted Samson’s total trust and dependence to be on God instead of Himself.

3) How is it possible to take pleasure in weakness, insult, hardship, persecution, and difficulty?
What weaknesses do you see in your everyday life and relationships? What would it look like if you took those instances as opportunities of worship? Opportunities to surrender your weakness in order for God’s glory and strength to be made much of? Wouldn’t it take off the burden of performance? Might it remove the need to control? Perhaps, like the stories of faith in the Bible, these hardships and weaknesses will point steadfastly to the glory of an eternal King of Glory! I have a friend who lost her son, who nearly lost her life due to significant illness, I have a friend who loves Jesus most. When I asked her why she would try again for another baby, or why she would move to another country to proclaim Christ, her answer is simple, but her faith is deep and intricate, “He has been so faithful to us before, why wouldn’t we trust Him for this?”
“For The Sake of Christ”. It’s not a pithy saying, it’s a hard-hitting truth to battle your “weakness, insult, hardship, persecution, and difficulty”. Surrender your weakness, friend, and rest in the faithful, un-ending strength of the God who will always do the incredible with our frailty!

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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

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

Digging Deeper Community

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Why Dig Deeper?

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

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

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

Study Tools

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

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

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

Memorize It!

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