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Worship VII Day 13 One Day

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Read His Words Before Ours!

2 Corinthians 4:1-5
Romans 5:6-11
John 3:16-21
Revelation 22:6-20

Worship VII, Day 13

What a difference a day makes!

I remember the day I came face to face with the knowledge that I was hopelessly lost. Old Slew foot, the devil, had blinded my eyes to the light of Life found only in Jesus. He said, “You’re a good girl. You have nothing to worry about.” Even though my parents, and their parents, and their parents before them were all Christians,
I was still lost in the darkness of my sin.

The old evangelist preached hard that night. Was it his warning of hell and damnation or the fact that my grandfather had recently passed that got my attention? Maybe both. The Spirit of God was opening the eyes of my heart, and I was brought into His Light that day. I recognized I needed a Savior so, at an old-fashioned camp meeting, I walked the aisle and gave my heart and life to the Lord.
Oh, what a day when I came into the Light!

At the turn of the 20th century, another great evangelist, J. Wilbur Chapman, was also intently determined to preach the Gospel. Chapman served several pastorates before going into the evangelistic circuit. He preached with the legendary D. L. Moody at the 1893 World’s Fair before traveling with gospel singer, Charles Alexander. Their first campaign in Philadelphia saw 8,000 conversions followed by Boston and 7,000 recorded conversions. Chapman and Alexander continued having tent revivals all around the world for the next 10 years until his death in 1918. [Wholesomeword.org]

While Chapman will be forever known as a great evangelist, he also blessed the Church with many hymns like “Our Great Savior (Jesus, What a Friend of Sinners)”.  Perhaps he “gave the Christian world the greatest gospel content song of all time when he penned the words for “One Day.” [Truthful Words Biographies]

“One day when Heaven was filled with His praises.
One day when sin was a black as can be.
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin,
Dwelt among men, my example is He.”

It was indeed a dark day when sin began running rampant and men turned from the living God to please themselves. Ever since that day in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), men and women have been impossibly lost in sin with no hope to save themselves. Until that one day when, at just the right time, God sent His angels to proclaim the miraculous, Jesus had come from Heaven to earth! (Luke 2:8-12) He came to the sinful and impossibly lost, born of a virgin to live fully as a man experiencing everything we experience, yet, living a sinless life because He was and is God Almighty. (1 Peter 2:20-25)

“Living He Loved me.”

How much God loves us! We are familiar with John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only Son…” But, even better, the darkness of our sin is chased away by His glorious light! (John 3:16-21)

Not only does He love us, but He came to provide our forgiveness before we even considered asking for it or being remorseful. (Romans 5:6-11) He loved, and forgave, while we were still deep in our sin.

“Dying He Saved me. Buried, He carried my sins far away.”

Yes, one day they arrested Jesus and falsely accused Him. That day, He took on our sin to pay our debt of punishment for that sin on a cruel cross.  He carried our sin upon Himself so it would no longer rule our lives. In Jesus, our sin has been removed “as far as the East is from the West.” (Psalm 103:12)

Our debt of sin has been erased! Gone! Forever Gone! Praise the Lord!
“He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations,
that was against us and opposed to us,
and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.”
(Colossians 2:14)

“Rising, He justified freely forever”

Even greater than taking on the punishment of death we deserved, after three days in the grave, He rose again, breaking the power of sin and death. On that day, He freed us forever from the slavery of sin. In Jesus, we can be both saved from our sin’s punishment and justified before a Righteous God! Jesus moves our status from “hopelessly sinful” to “just as if I’d never sinned!”. This doesn’t come automatically because we’re alive, faith is required. (Hebrews 11:6) Faith that places our full-weight trust in Jesus Christ and His work on the cross to pay for our sin. Do we believe what the Bible says about Jesus? If we accept His offer of salvation in genuine faith, we will live forever with Him in Heaven one day.

“It will be credited to us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” (Romans 4:23-25)

“One day He’s coming, Oh Glorious day!”

Ah! Yes! One day! One day He is coming again for us!
When Christ ascended into Heaven, the angel come down with a promise that ONE DAY, He would return just as He had left in the clouds. (Acts 1:6-11) It will be a glorious day when he comes and sets up His kingdom.

And who can enter in?
“Those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
(Revelation 7:14)

I am ready for that Glorious day!
Are you?
Have you repented of your sin and asked to be free from the slavery of sin and its punishment of death? Make today your own “One Day” that changes everything!
What a difference a day makes!

“Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let anyone who hears, say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires take the water of life freely.”
(Revelation 22:17)

Author’s Note:
Though this hymn is over 100 years old, listen in to Casting Crowns for a remade version!

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Screenshot Day 8 Go Get The Sheep

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Matthew 18:10-14
Jeremiah 29:11-14
John 3:16-21

Screenshot, Day 8

Imagine this: you are babysitting three children. While they all play contentedly, you go to the kitchen to prepare dinner. After you finish cooking, you set the food on the table, and call them to eat. As you round the corner into the living room, your stomach drops and panic ensues.
There are only two of the three children present.
The other is nowhere to be found.
You now begin frantically searching the house while your mind begins thinking of all possible worst case scenarios. Finally, you see a little pair of feet sticking out from under the bed. Phew!
Your heart is immediately filled with relief and joy knowing the child is safe and can now join the others who are happily eating.

A similar picture is painted in the parable of the lost sheep.
A shepherd has one hundred sheep and one is lost, which prompts the shepherd to leave the ninety-nine in search of the one.
On finding his lost sheep, he rejoices and calls his community to celebrate with him as he brings his lost one home.

As I read through this parable, Chris Tomlin’s beautiful song, Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone), comes to mind.

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

My chains are gone
I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, amazing grace

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures

This song so perfectly shows our Lord’s heart for us.
Like a parent searching for their lost child, or a shepherd searching for a lost sheep,
He will not stop searching for us.

He will continuously pursue the soul separated from His grace
that He might rescue them from sin and death,
lavishing us with His celebratory love of redemption and welcome!

We, each one of us.
You, me,
the girl across the street,
the man on the corner,
the pastor at church,
and the saintly ones we look up to…..
we are wretches before the Just and Righteous God.

We’ve each turned away from His grace, “become His enemies”, and “like sheep, have all gone astray.” (Romans 5:10, Isaiah 53:6)
What separates us?
Our sin.
Black, ugly, all-consuming.
Just one sin is enough to sentence us to an eternity separated from a God who is blameless, perfect, and flawlessly holy. If He were to abide with sin, He would no longer be the Holy and Righteous God.

But, oh sisters, you and I both know we have more than 1 solitary sin against us!
This is the sin that drives us away from the fold of sheep.
This is the sin that keeps us lost.

But God.
Shows His love for us in this.
While we were still sinners.
Christ died for us.

He died to bring us back.
To exchange our status from lost to found.
From shame and hiding to adored and celebrated!
He brings us back into the fold because He longs to give us hope and a future, found only in His righteousness, which He graciously gives as an exchange for our sin, made possible through the sacrificial blood offering of Jesus who took Death in our place. (Jeremiah 29:11-14, Romans 5:6-11, John 3:16-21)

Jesus left heaven, put on flesh, became one of us in order to win us back from the grip of Sin and Death.
The invitation is bold, freeing, and life-giving.
If you haven’t trusted Jesus, for your eternity, what’s holding you back?
What ties you to the identity of being lost rather than found? Is it worth it?

As believers, let this parable from the heart of God challenge us!
God has been showing me in my own life that if I am to be like Christ the Shepherd, then I must begin by throwing off all I claim as self-importance,
that Name of the Lord can reach one more person as I surrender to His ways.

We as believers get comfortable sometimes.
Too Comfortable.

We build church buildings.
And stay inside.

We open the doors.
Expecting people to come in.

But are we going out? 

Here in the Bahamas, we do baptisms differently. Instead of baptizing new believers in the church, we take baptisms to the beaches as we celebrate the sheep that is now found.
We take church outside of the walls in order to reach just one.
It is a beautiful thing.
We have been blessed with the opportunity to be open and bold about our faith unlike many of our brothers and sisters across the globe who suffer silently for their faith.
What are we doing with those freedoms?

Are we going out and getting the lost sheep?
Or are we just staying with the ninety- nine?

Staying with the ninety-nine is comfortable and easy.
Going to get the one is hard and painful.

Getting the “one” looks like fostering children from broken homes,
engaging in a ministry to regain territory from Satan,
evangelizing people that are hard to love,
baptizing on the beach,
or embracing people who are broken and hurting.
It looks like going beyond our borders.

All of these are hard to do.
They require sacrifice.
They require prayer.
They require being visible and possibly ridiculed.
They require being uncomfortable.
They require obedience to this glorious gospel by which Christ has set us free!

God’s mission is to go out and get the sheep, will you join Him?!

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The GT Weekend! Sketched IV Week 2

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The GT Weekend!

At Gracefully Truthful, weekends aren’t for “checking out”.
Use this time to invite the Almighty’s fullness into you life in a deeper way!
Saturdays and Sundays are a chance to
reflect, rest, and re-center our lives onto Christ.
Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with other women in prayer,
rest your soul in reflective journaling,
and spend time worshiping the Creator who
longs for intimacy with each of us!

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) The desire to stand on our own two feet and move in our own power is strong. Where are your weaknesses? Where do you need to shore up your defense against the enemy’s potential attack on your life? Claim truth from Scripture that you can cling to during temptation!

2) In America, the physical cost of following Jesus is not as dangerous as some of our brothers and sisters around the world. However, the fear of rejection or separation is very real, and readily holds us back from sharing Truth with those around us. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you boldness this week. Who in your sphere of influence needs to hear the Hope of the Gospel?

3) As women in the kingdom of God, we have an important role to play. We can change the course of someone’s life, for better or for worse. Think back on the women in your past that spoke life into you. How did they influence your spiritual development? Looking forward, who in your sphere of influence can you make a difference in? Be ready to speak words that bring refreshment to the soul, encouragement and truth from Scripture!

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 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

9But 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.

Prayer Journal
O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness during the day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Taken from the Common Book of Prayers

Worship Through Community

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Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Misunderstood Day 9 Who You CAN Judge: 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 Who You CAN Judge!

The Questions

1) Who is speaking in this passage? 
 
2) What is the greater context? 
 
3) What is the progression of behavior we are to have towards one another according to this passage? 

Luke 17:3-4

3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” 

Original Intent

1) Who is speaking in this passage?
In this passage Jesus is speaking to the disciples. You have to go back to chapter 14 of Luke to find where Jesus begins this section of teaching and is called by name, where in subsequent chapters Jesus is referred to simply as “He”. In the first verse, there are two pronouns used, “He” and “His”, both of which are referring to Jesus.  

2) What is the greater context?
Jesus, in the past several chapters, has been teaching all around the region and mingling with people of various stations in society, including the sinners and the sick. Just before these verses, He used a parable to illustrate a story about a rich and a poor man with the intention of creatively explaining the earthly temptation of riches.  Following His story, He turns to His disciples and discusses stumbling blocks to the faith, explaining and urging them to be on guard and keep each other accountable for righteous living.  

3) What is the progression of behavior we are to have towards one another according to this passage?
There is a clear progression and intention that Jesus gives in these verses about rebuking someone. He establishes that we are to be on guard with our own behavior and then we can keep our brothers accountable by rebuking their sinful behavior with repentance as the goal. If they repent, then forgive and continually forgive, when repentance is at the heart of the situation.  

Everyday Application

1) Who is speaking in this passage?
In three years of ministry, Jesus taught His disciples and other followers as much as He could. His intention was to set an example that could be followed while calling people to Himself. He ate with sinners, He sought after the lost, and He continually used moments in His everyday existence to teach about who He was as He pointed people to the Father. Today, He does that in so many ways, but especially through His Word and other believers.  

2) What is the greater context?
This is not an isolated teaching moment for Jesus. He taught with the purpose of bringing about redemption often. He seeks after the lost to save them. He seeks the blind to bring them sight. He seeks the hurting to heal them, not just emotionally, but spiritually. At the heart of Scripture, we must recognize the greater story, which is the Gospel. It is the good news that we aren’t alone and can be redeemed! As Christians, we have a community of believers God has given us to hold us accountable, to love us as He loves, and to be His hands and feet here on Earth. Be aware, sisters! There are stumbling blocks all around…find your support, root yourself in His Word, and bathe your heart in His eternal truth! Allow the Holy Spirit to work as He was intended to work.   

3) What is the progression of behavior we are to have towards one another according to this passage?
Rebuking is hard to do and forgiveness is even harder sometimes. Notice that in this passage we must first look at ourselves and guard our own heart before we act to rebuke someone. If you are rebuking someone’s behavior, the heart must be love and the goal to bring about restoration and redemption. Then, forgiveness is offered. Extending grace, just as grace was extended to us, is the goal of keeping each other accountable. Our desire should be to help not to harm, to point others to Christ, not beat them down with their own sin.  

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
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Catch up with Who You CAN Judge!

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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Pray Together!
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Our Current Study Theme!

This is Misunderstood Week Two!
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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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Shepherd Day 6 Lifelines In The Dark

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 23:4
Isaiah 42:10-16
Habakkuk 3:17-19
Jeremiah 29:10-14

Shepherd, Day 6

I remember feeling like I had fallen into a deep pit, so deep that only a small circle of light marked where I used to walk. Not only did the darkness envelop me, it seemed all breath had been knocked from my lungs, and the ability to cry out for help remained just out of reach. The college semester and its expectations were rapidly spiraling out of my control.
Had I actually fallen?
No, in reality I remember standing in a well-lit lobby surrounded by friends. My body with them. My thoughts and emotions solidly resting at the bottom of that figurative dark pit.

However, in that moment, I suddenly understood how the thought of suicide made sense. From that vantage point of near darkness where the overwhelming expectations of perfection and the inability to meet those choked out the light, permanently closing my eyes and fully embracing the blackness seemed like the one option for success left.

All of those feelings, and the circumstances that caused them, were quite real,
but they were far from the truth.

Lying there at the bottom of that figurative pit, the Holy Spirit waged war to pierce the darkness.
For every chill that tried to seep into my bones, He countered it with Truth found in the Word. He did not suddenly pluck me out of the pit overnight, as I so desperately desired. Instead, the Lord showed me His faithfulness by walking with me through the season; one filled with many tears and daily choices to believe He was with me even on the days I felt alone.

In Psalm 23, the psalmist holds on to this truth:
“Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me.”

David, the author of this psalm, had many reasons to write these words. Though I do not know what season of life David was in when he wrote this psalm, I can imagine a few of the scenarios in which he experienced the truth of the words. As a young man, he may have thought them as he stared down an approaching threat to his flock. He may have thought them as he picked up the five stones before facing Goliath. Death would most certainly be the outcome if he did not defeat the giant. Still later in life these words may have risen as a prayer while Saul hunted him. David had been anointed the next king of Israel, and Saul, the currently reigning king, sought David to kill him. David knew the reality of the Lord shepherding him through the dark times. Over and over again, he experienced the faithfulness of the Lord leading him on.

Unlike David, I could quote this verse from memory with an untested confidence of its truth before my challenging college years. In hindsight, I look back upon that time and thank the Lord for allowing me to experience it. It was through the process of trusting Him in the dark that my faith grew and the truth of the verse became a deeply rooted experiential reality. I truly experienced His shepherding me through the season.

The Lord proved His presence in many ways in the midst of the darkness, but His Word remains one of the most memorable, just as it was for David.

“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

The Word came alive to me during that season where the light seemed so far away. My desperation to hear the Lord speak, rescue, and lead me caused me to search the Bible for hope, truth, and ways to pray.  It became my lifeline during that dark season and has been since then as the Lord faithfully allowed me to find Him there, in His Word.

He’ll do the same for you!
If you find the lights dimming, or the darkness winning,
may the truth in these verses remind you of the faithfulness of the Lord.
He has the ability to make darkness, light and despair, hope.

Allow these truths from the Good Shepherd to steady you, bring you light, and remind you of hope, just as they did for me.
“You will find the Lord when you search for Him with all your heart.”  (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

“The Lord says He will make the darkness into light before you and He will not leave incomplete.” (Isaiah 42:16)

“The Lord God is my Strength,
my personal bravery, and my invincible army;
He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk]
and  make [spiritual] progress upon my high places
[of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]!.”
(Habbakuk 3:19, Amplified Bible)

What verses are your lifelines in the dark?
Which ones remind you the Lord is your faithful Shepherd?
Hold fast, dear sister, to the truth in the Word and keep walking.
He is with you!

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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 Shepherd Week Two! 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 Shepherd!

Sketched III, Day 5 Barabbas

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Matthew 27:15-26
Mark 15:1-15
Luke 23:1-25

Sketched III, Day 5

After weeks of waiting in prison, the day has finally come.
I, Barabbas, have been convicted of treason against Rome.
My punishment is the worst imaginable – crucifixion at Golgotha.

I joined the insurrectionists because I believed in their mission – to rebel against the iron fist that was Roman rule and the elite upper class of Israel. Joining the zealots gave me a sense of purpose and belonging.

My name means “son of the father”, but I have no family.
This guerilla rebel group took me in and showed me that I could make a lasting impact on the world – for good or for bad.

During the riots, I felt full of fire and passion, like I would never get caught!
I robbed and I murdered.
I became notorious among the people as a revolutionary, gained popularity among other insurrectionists, and sympathy from the common people.
My life was going great, but in the back of my mind,
I wondered when my luck would run out.

Finally, it did.
I was arrested at our most recent uprising, and I’ve been in jail with other rebels ever since. I knew I was in trouble the moment the Roman soldier grabbed me.
The Romans don’t go easy on people like me.
They don’t care if I’ve stolen or if I’ve killed someone.
My sentence is for treason, the highest offense in Roman eyes.
When I was arrested, my first thought was of crucifixion.
I knew that would be my fate.

But I have one small hope, Paschal Pardon, the Jewish Passover custom of releasing to the crowd one prisoner of their choice.
So my fate lies in the hands of an angry mob.

I’ve been told that the governor, Pontius Pilate, is going to offer to the crowd me and one other man, Jesus of Nazareth. This man is also convicted on treason,
but He’s nothing like me.
I’ve heard He’s been creating quite the commotion around the city.
I’ve heard He performs miracles.
I’ve heard He heals the sick and dines with the poor.
Some say He is a good teacher.
Others say He is the Messiah.

Jesus landed himself in this position because the chief priests and scribes are angry at Him. He claims to be the Son of God – blasphemy in their eyes.
He said that the temple would be destroyed, but He would raise it up in 3 days (John 2:19). More blasphemy.

Getting the chief priests and scribes angry may play to my advantage, though.
They have influence and they will be in the crowd today. They want Jesus out of their way and they will do whatever it takes to make it happen!
If they argue for Jesus’s crucifixion, surely the crowd will as well.
—

I’ve gotten word that the crowd seems to be favoring my release over Jesus! I may have a second chance at life! I feel so full of relief, vigor, excitement, deliverance, and…

Guilt.
This man has done nothing to deserve death!
When He came into Jerusalem at the beginning of Passover, He came riding in on a donkey and people praised Him shouting, “Hosanna!” (Matthew 21:1-11).
He has brought hope and healing, not death and destruction like me.
Who could this man be?
Is he a good teacher?
Is he a prophet?
Or is he really the Messiah?

How could this innocent man die in my place?
Me, a sinful and guilty man!
If this Jesus really does die for me, I must find out the truth.
Why He is here and why He died.
——

Barabbas was the forerunner of all people to be saved by Jesus’ death. Barabbas was guilty for his sins. He deserved death. Instead of receiving what he deserved, he was shown mercy. Jesus took his place on the cross so that Barabbas would not that have to die that day.
Today, we are all Barabbas.
We deserve death for the sins we have committed, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life and died the death we deserve. Imagine the relief Barabbas must have felt when he learned that he would not be crucified. May we also experience that kind of appreciation and thankfulness for our salvation through Jesus Christ!

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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 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 Sketched III!

Battle Day 3 Sole Satisfier

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Ephesians 2:11-22
1 Peter 2:1-5
1 Peter 1:13-23

I re-discovered something today.
I’d known it for quite a while, but sometimes things get brought to a new light, squeezing our insides and forcing our eyes to look full in the face of something hard, something bitter.
The man I married….he cannot satisfy my deepest needs.

But it isn’t one-sided.
I can’t satisfy him either.

We’d been fighting (er, having a “discussion”), and the farther in we got, the more we realized, again, how very different we are.
Too different?
Irreconcilably different?

I wept.
He walked away.
We both love each other, but the one we each married to find happiness, wasn’t delivering.

I stowed away, carrying our youngest and a handful of tissues to our closet, closing the door behind me as my eyes sought out a familiar landmark on our bookshelf:
our wedding pictures.
Not the professional one, but a scrapbook created with the loving hands of my mother-in-love. I prepared for a good, long cry as I sat cross-legged, wiggling baby cooing, and opened its pages, already weeping.

I gazed at our happy faces, naïve little 20 year olds who knew nothing of what lie ahead. Nothing of the pain of journeying.
Nothing of the angst of disappointment.
Nothing of being un-fulfilled.

Oh, if I could go back…
Run into that “ready room” where that young, glowing bride was gleefully putting on her gown.
Me, mid-thirties, plenty of graying hairs mixed with my blond,
pooching belly drooping with the stretched skin of carrying 8 little lives,
a face lined with wrinkles of both worry and laughter,
hands that had wiped tears, baby bottoms, caressed my husband, clenched tight in anger, and now held the pages of that scrapbook nearly 15 years old.

“Stop!” I’d say.
“You don’t know what you’re doing!
That man! He won’t deliver on his promises.
He can’t satisfy your heart. You will grieve, dear one! You will grieve!”
He will grieve.

My baby gurgled and chortled, grabbing at the pages before me. I looked into his eyes, and looked back the girl in the picture, and at the skinny boy next to her.
Neither of them knew.
But someone did.
The Father who loved them both.

Jesus knew we’d open our eyes to this day when we’d recognize again that we weren’t “perfect for each other”.
He knew we would wade into this disappointment.
That we would see the other as the enemy.
And He was ready to hold our hands as we kept walking.

See, marriage wasn’t the problem, the focus of our affection was.
Marriage wasn’t designed to make us happy, but to make us holy.

Not married? No problem…whoever you’re relationship tension is with,
they weren’t designed to make you happy either.
Parents.
Siblings.
Extended family.
Those people at church.
That man from work.
That guy on the internet.
Those friends who betrayed you.
That bestie who loves you, but still manages to hurt your feelings.
Your pastor.
Your boss.
Your son or daughter……
all will disappoint,
all will leave you empty,
all will confuse you into thinking that the enemy is the other person’s inability to fulfill.
I turned a few more pages and saw the younger version of my in-laws, smiling and glowing as they looked at us. They were celebrating their 25th anniversary that year, noting that when we celebrated our 25th, they would be celebrating their 50th.
Depth. Richness. Fullness.
My tears stopped falling.
Rich relationships awaited my husband and me for the next 50 years if we’d allow it, but our happiness had to stop depending on the other.

We were so different.
My love and I.
So far apart.
Then the Spirit’s voice reminded me of precious verses in Ephesians.

Paul had just finished teaching the church how, even though we are dead in our sins, God made us alive together with Christ.
Our “alive-ness” is found first in unity Jesus!

For He Himself IS our peace, who has made us both one,
and has broken down in His flesh, the dividing wall of hostility. (Ephesians 2:14)

There were 2 groups: Jews and Gentiles.
If ever there was reason for intense conflict, it was between these two.
But Paul reminds them that Jesus is for them all, and that peace begins in Him.

Walking together means first walking with Jesus.
Finding resolution means finding my footing in my identity in Christ first.
Growing love for my husband starts with investing in my relationship with God.

“…that he (Jesus) might create in himself one new man in place of the two,
so making peace,
16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross,
thereby killing the hostility.
18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”
Ephesians 2:15-16, 18

If the Lord can bring two dissenting parties together for the sake of the gospel, He is more than able to bring unity in your relationships!

If I could go back to that “ready room”, I wouldn’t warn that girl to “stop and run”, but to lean in to her Savior, because His love would fill her up, allowing her to love her husband even better.

Go. Lean In. Do Battle and Love Well!

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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 Battle 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 Battle!

The GT Weekend – Sketched II Week 3

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The GT Weekend

At Gracefully Truthful, weekends aren’t for “checking out”.
Use this time to invite the Almighty’s fullness into you life in a deeper way!
Saturdays and Sundays are a chance to reflect, rest, and re-center our lives onto Christ. Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with other women in prayer, rest your soul in reflective journaling, and spend time worshiping the Creator who longs for intimacy with each of us!

Journal With Us!

Journal Prompts

  1. It’s easy to follow God when He’s asking us to do something easy. We will all have “big moments” when it will be difficult to choose His way. When have you been obedient in the difficult moments? Take a moment to pray for our sisters who could lose their lives for choosing faith in Jesus.
  2. Where is God moving in your life? If this is a season of waiting for you, dig in and breathe in the presence of the Lord. It will sustain you for the next season of serving that’s coming! Search for some Scripture to commit to memory to encourage your heart.
  3. If you have been a follower of Jesus for a while, life can become routine and not feel ‘awe-filled’. Reflect on your relationship with the Lord and consider those things you do that feel like an obligation or habit rather than love-inspired obedience. Ask the Lord to refresh your spirit as you draw closer to him. Ask Him to refresh your curiosity about Him! If you aren’t yet a follower of Jesus, pen down a few thoughts on what is holding you back.

Worship In Song

Music Video: Christy Nockels’ “Ever Lifting”

Pour Out Your Heart

Lord Jesus, following You has no guarantee of being easy, pleasant or prosperous by worldly standards. I praise You for using people who are simply faithful and obedient. I magnify Your holy name, LORD, for giving us choice and free will. You don’t expect blind obedience, but ask us to accept and choose to follow You. Mold me into a servant who follows You in loving obedience. Take the spaces of my walk with You that have grown stale and freshen them. Draw me deeper to Your side.

Father we lift up our sisters around the world who are living under oppression because of their faith. Encourage their hearts Lord, give them a spirit of perseverance. Bring them to mind often this week Father as we go through our easy lives, let us remember them and intercede for them. Keep Your hedge of protection around them and their families, Lord Jesus, remember Your faithful servants!

Pray With Us!

In everything, with praise and thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God!
Click here to comment and pray with the GT Community!
Want to connect with a GT Partner?
Send your prayer request to prayer@gracefullytruthful.com
We are committed to praying over and walking with you!

Journey With Us

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What were your thoughts from the GT Weekend?
How were you drawn near to the Father and encouraged in your faith?
Share with the community and encourage other women!

The GT Weekend – Passionate 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!

Journal With Us!

Journal Prompts

1) Being an active participant in biblical community is a big deal. It’s also scary to be transparent and authentic, but the rewards are huge! What’s holding you back from finding a small group of Christ-followers to live life with? Challenge yourself to share transparently with a close, believing friend this week. Want to share with us here at Gracefully Truthful? Send an email!

2) When have you felt entirely abandoned, alone, betrayed, and forsaken? Or perhaps you fear that it will happen to you. Consider your view of God. Is your view of Him grounded in biblical truth or are you afraid to trust Him because you don’t feel that He is trustworthy? Remind yourself that Jesus chose our punishment of being forsaken so that we would never feel separated from the One who loves us most!

3) How hungry are you for the Word of God? For deep community? For drinking deeply from the spring of Living Water? Jesus holds life and truth and mercy in quantities far beyond our comprehension. Set aside time to consistently lean in to all that He has waiting for you!

Worship In Song

Music Video: David Crowder’s “Forgiven”

Pour Out Your Heart

Father, I praise You for being the center foundation for truth! Jesus, thank You for dying in my place, taking my punishment on Your shoulders, and choosing separation from God that I could be made whole! Spirit, I need your fresh breath! Whisper to my heart, flood me with truth, remind me of Your unfathomable love for me. I pray that this Easter would be one of deep renewal for my heart, Lord. Show me Yourself in new ways and deepen my understanding of Your boundless grace at the cross. Show me how to live out Your love in new ways to the people around me as a result of Your un-ending love for me!

Pray With Us!

In everything, with praise and thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God!
Click here to comment and pray with the GT Community!
Want to connect with a GT Partner?
Send your prayer request to prayer@gracefullytruthful.com
We are committed to praying over and walking with you!

Journey With Us

Sign up to have GT Journey Studies sent to you!
What were your thoughts from the GT Weekend?
How were you drawn near to the Father and encouraged in your faith?
Share with the community and encourage other women!