mission

Calling Day 1 Into Inheritance

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Ephesians 1:1-14
Haggai 1:1-11
Revelation 21:1-5

Calling, Day 1

“We will not neglect the house of our God!”
(Nehemiah 10:39, emphasis mine)

“Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the Lord has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.” And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. (Exodus 36:1-2, emphasis mine)

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ.
(Romans 12:4-5)

You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? Because of My House that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. (Haggai 1:9)

The Lord has always carefully guarded, and given clear instruction for,
His dwelling place among His people.

In the Old Testament, chapter after chapter overflow with specificities on not only building the tabernacle, but also regarding its operation and management.

God’s heartbeat is, and always has been,
to be in deep relationship with His people.
Thus, He placed high priority upon
the place where He would meet with them. 

Moses’ original site of communion with God, the Tent of Meeting, gave way to the moveable Tabernacle where God dwelt in the Holy of Holies. This was eventually replaced by Solomon’s temple in the holy city of Jerusalem, which was destroyed in 70AD.

Over time, as Jews multiplied and spread, synagogues became the gathering places for worshipping and studying the Torah (first five books of the Old Testament). In fact, the Greek word for “assembly” is “synagogue”!

Finally, after Jesus was crucified, rose from the dead, and ascended to Heaven, He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within everyone who trusts in the Lord for their eternal salvation.
The new tabernacle was the very heart of every believer!

Whether it was the Tent of Meeting,
the Tabernacle in the wilderness,
the temple in Jerusalem,
a synagogue in the ancient Roman world,
or your local Bible-teaching church,
each of these represent something precious to the heart of God,
a meeting place with His people. 

Just as God protected and cherished those dwelling places in the Old Testament, so does He lavishly love and care for how the Church, local and global, lives out its calling to advance the Kingdom of God.

Ephesians is like the handbook for church life, detailing out our identity, our mission, and our calling. Before you check out because you aren’t on staff at a church, or maybe only attend on occasion, sink into this truth:

Every believer is the Church.

Please, as fellow member of this beautiful Body called Church, I plead with you to read every word of Ephesians with us as we study.
Our words are meaningless without His.
Our studies merely point to His truth.
So, if you’ve made it this far without reading His Words Before Ours, please back up and read today’s selection from Ephesians 1:1-14!

As you read, drink it slowly, deliciously; let the message wash over you, bringing renewal.
These are the words of the Lord God for His precious Bride, the Church.
These words are for us as His Beloved, the place where He dwells!

Because, here’s the ravishing secret, we are His inheritance and He is ours!! 

I’m giddy with excitement every time I consider this glorious reality!
Come! Look!

To the saints…
Grace & peace to you, (Read: washing over you and embracing you on all sides)
from God our FATHER (how wondrous!)
and Christ Jesus our SAVIOR (breathtaking love!).
(Ephesians 1:1-2)

And just like that, we are ushered into a book of radical love and steadfast truth with a warm embrace.

In the first 14 verses, we, the Church,
every saved-from-sin-rescued-from-death believer, are hereby declared…

Blessed
With every spiritual blessing available in the infinite heavenly riches of Christ.
(verse 3)

Chosen
Set apart from before the beginning of time to be blameless and holy before the Lord.
(verse 4)

Adopted
With every right and every inheritance given to us, not based on our works, but solely because He lovingly chose to love us.
(verses 5-6)

Lavishly Covered
With His limitless gifts of redemption, forgiveness, and grace.
(verses 7-8)

Unified With God
Having been invited to understand the rich mysteries of how God has planned for our salvation and welcomed us, the Church, into the great gift of unity between ourselves and the godhead.
(verses 9-10)

Heirs
We are the recipients of this profoundly rich inheritance.
(verses 11-12)

Sealed
On hearing the freedom offered in Christ, having trusted Him as our only Savior and Lord, God poured His Spirit into our hearts, remaking our DNA to be like His own. Here is the proof of our salvation! The God who safeguards our souls by His Spirit until one, indescribable day, when our inheritance is seen with naked eyes and we behold the glory that is
God dwelling with us FACE TO FACE!
(verses 13-14)

Church!!
How wondrous is the love the Father has lavished upon us!
May our tongues never cease to praise Him for calling us into this inheritance!

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Sketched VII Day 6 A Mother’s Heart

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Judges 4:1-5:31
Isaiah 61
James 1:5-8

Sketched VII, Day 6

I took my seat beneath the palm tree. Its shade provided a bit of respite from the brilliant sun that would soon bake the ground around me. A slight breeze promised to be a welcome companion in the heat of the day, should it decide to stick around.

Another day fulfilling the mission the Lord has placed before me awaits. Already, those seeking help in settling their disputes climbed the hill to wait for the wisdom the Lord graciously pours out through me. My ability to discern His leading has become known throughout the land: I am Deborah, a prophetess. My dear husband, Lappidoth, has embraced the Lord’s touch upon me and supports my repeated trek to the palm tree. Each day sitting under the tree begins with prayer asking the Lord to impart His wisdom to me as I guide His people.

My arrival at this place of leadership can only be attributed to the Lord. Who was I, a woman living in the days of King Jabin of Canaan’s oppression, to serve as judge over Israel?   Twenty years had passed thus far under King Jabin’s mighty hand, miserable years under his domination. Thankfully, hope seemed to ride the wind.

Recently, I awoke with an awareness of the Lord’s desire to speak to Barak son of Abinoam. I sent word requesting his presence and spent several days watching the horizon for his arrival. A peace and preparation for the conversation to come settled on me as I waited, and somehow I knew Barak would join me before the sun set.

Therefore, I was not surprised when, mid-day, I saw his small traveling caravan crest the hill in the distance. As he approached, I sent a messenger to bring him directly to me, rather than wait with others seeking wisdom. The Lord had a message for Barak and obedience urged me to speak to him immediately. 

When Barak stood before me, I spoke the words burning within me.

“Hasn’t the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you:
‘Go, deploy the troops on Mount Tabor,
and take with you ten thousand men from Naphtalites and Zebulunites?
Then I will lure Sisera commander of Jabin’s army, his chariots, and his infantry
at the Wadi Kishon to fight against you,
and I will hand him over to you.’” (Judges 4:6-7)

My words carried a peaceful authority. I didn’t condemn, but made my point with a question whose answer we both already knew. The Lord had summoned Barak to confirm he was hearing His voice. I prayed my tone would help imbue him with strength and confidence to believe the Lord had chosen him for such a time as this. My mother’s heart desired to see Barak rise up as the warrior the Lord was inviting, declaring, and commanding him to be.

Barak replied to me, “If you will go with me, I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go.” (Judges 4:8)

I looked at the man standing before me. The lines in his face were etched from time spent in the sun, and quite possibly from events he could no more erase from his mind’s eye than he could from his weathered skin. They spoke to me of a man who survived many hardships. However, his eyes communicated the fear of a young man longing to know he was not fighting alone.

I paused before replying, listening for the words and impression of the Lord’s heart to rise up within me. A yes but response solidified in my spirit and the words flowed freely from my mouth.

“I will gladly go with you,
but you will receive no honor on the road you are about to take,
because the Lord will sell Sisera to a woman.” (Judges 4:9)

I sensed I would not be said woman, but I also began to prepare my heart for all the Lord had in store. The Lord faithfully pours out His wisdom, discernment, and leading, but never had He painted the whole picture in one moment.

We journeyed to Mount Tabor and all the Lord prophesied came to pass. Sisera’s entire army lost their lives, and by the hand of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, Sisera met his ultimate demise. She used the tools in her hand to defeat Sisera and thereby fulfill the Lord’s word.

Barak and I declared the goodness of the Lord after He demonstrated His power and faithfulness to Israel once again. I found myself rejoicing over the mother’s heart the Lord had nurtured within me.

I was delighted by the way Barak embraced the command of the Lord to rally the troops, and the humility with which he accepted the Lord’s response to his request for my presence. Setting aside his pride, Barak accepted the reality of Sisera’s delivery into the hands of a woman, and praised the Lord.

Later, as I returned to my seat beneath the palm tree, my eyes scanned the faces of those waiting before me. A mother’s compassion rose within me and I spoke over them:

“Lord, may all your enemies perish as Sisera did.
But may those who love him be like the rising of the sun in its strength.” (Judges 5:31)

I motioned the first group forward and prayed for the Lord to encourage, empower, and edify them to complete all He has planned for each of them. For His glory.

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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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Eve Day 15 Eve Of Eternity

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Revelation 1:7-8
Revelation 3:11-13
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Titus 2:11-15

Over the past few weeks, we’ve discussed so many eves. Some were laden with joy, some with sadness. All were buoyed by the expectancy of a Great Change to come, regardless of context.

This eve, the Eve of Eternity, is no different.
Friends, this life we’re living right now, today?
We are in the Eve of Eternity.
I know.
Sometimes it feels like this life is so basic, so routine. We wake up, make the coffee, do the work, make the dinner, go to bed. I get it.
But friends, this is our Eve.

These days. These hours. These minutes.

If we were each being honest, we would all agree that our daily routines and tasks seem to take over so much of our time, thoughts and energy. Our intentions may be golden, but we are so easily pulled away. We set alarms, set aside time, set aside our goals and to dos so we can spend time in His presence without outside distraction…for our 30 minutes or one hour…but things get busy, children start crying, our boss moves up the deadline, our car won’t start, fill-in-your blank. As we discussed and shared throughout Pause, most of us find that our challenge lies in actively making space for the Kingdom in our daily lives…but Loves, is that really what we are called to do in these final days?

Or are we called to craft a daily life that revolves around the Kingdom?

The thing is, we exist in this crazy tension between our identity in Christ and where our citizenship lies, versus the fallen world we currently live in.
Our spirit is at constant war within us, fighting against the flesh and yearning for the holy, because in Christ we are made holy.
Our hearts are burdened by the sin we see around us and in us,
because in Christ we are made clean.
We ache for the hurting,
because through Christ we are sent to heal.
We weep for the lost,
because Christ commissioned us, you and me, to reach them.
We live in this Eve in these imperfect bodies with imperfect desires, knowing that a perfect body awaits us, and friends? It’s really hard to reconcile that sometimes.
Truth? All the time.
But friends, we will live in these bodies until we either die or Jesus returns,
at which point,
our Eve will be over.

And when that time comes, regardless of whether it’s when Jesus returns or we fade as the flowers, will we be able to say that we pursued passionate relationship with our Jesus in our Eve?
Will the record of our lives show that we built our earthly life around our calling in Him?
With all the expectancy and hope, faith and obedience due the Eve of the return of our King?
Or will we be caught unaware, carving out space for Him in the middle of our busy?

When I was a little girl, Jesus’ return seemed so scary to me. I could blame it on the Left Behind books, but there was actually a particular passage of Scripture that always left me worried. The thought of Jesus’ return coming “like a thief in the night” stood in stark contrast to the God of my Bible stories and the Father I had grown to know. I couldn’t reconcile the two, and it left me feeling anxious.
Many nights, I laid awake, thinking, worrying and waiting.

My thoughts would race.
Why would He sneak in that way?
I thought He was clear in His commandments and laws, so why would this be so different from His nature?
Maybe He isn’t Who I think He is.
Maybe I don’t really know Him at all.

Isn’t that just how the enemy loves to sneak in? But friends? I was missing the whole point of that passage!
A little further on, Paul writes (and I paraphrase):
You are not in the dark, so you will not be surprised!
You are children of Light, of the day…
You are not destined for wrath, but for salvation!

Paul goes on to exhort us to remain vigilant and aware, keeping our eyes open. He isn’t talking about our physical wakefulness here. Whether our earthly bodies die or Jesus returns, we have salvation! But in the meantime, this walking-out-the-Kingdom stuff in our Eve of Eternity?
It’s not for the faint-hearted, friends.

We need to center our lives on Christ to make it through.

We need to live outward focused lives, sharing Jesus generously with others through our words, but more so through our actions.

We need each other; we need to adopt, uphold and encourage the sweet community that Jesus modeled with His disciples.

Our Eve of Eternity is similar to the other eves we’ve journeyed, but there is one stark difference: it is our final eve.
Our one shot to fulfill all that He calls us to do.
The Word is clear in that no one knows the day or hour, but we do know He will fulfill His promise to us.

Today I am issuing a challenge to each of us, myself included. As we examine how we are living out our Eve of Eternity, think about those who do not have personal relationship with Jesus whom God has placed in our circles. They could be our barista, our cashier, our librarian, or our next door neighbor. Let’s write those names down and begin to pray for Holy Spirit to reveal and appoint opportunities to do life with them and draw them into community with us!

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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 Eve Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Justice Day 11 Beyond My Walls

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Isaiah 30:18
Psalm 146
Psalm 147

It’s something I take entirely for granted.
Clean water.
In my house, there are 21 outlets for fresh water.
Twenty-One!
In many third world countries, there are zero.
Even traveling outside of a home or village to get to water, it’s contaminated and disease ridden,
meaning that literally millions of people have no access to clean water whatsoever.

My church has proudly taken a stand to help fill the gap, standing up for those suffering without this most basic necessity of life. They run for clean water by partnering with Team World Vision, where just $50 changes 1 life with clean water access.
For the amount of a nice dinner out, 1 life can be forever changed.

The fact that people, usually women, spend their days walking about 4 miles one-way to collect dirty water for their families, and then carry it home again, is a social injustice worth fighting against. One, that together, we can make a huge difference in.
It’s practical, it’s tangible, and it’s life changing!

We hashtag #firstworldproblems and snicker a little, knowing full-well the incredible advantage we have in the country we live in.

My daughter has every athletic bone in her body, she is speedy, determined, and does backflips like nobody’s business. She ended up on a soccer team with another girl her age, Addy. Addy is 8 years old, in the 3rd grade, and is training to run a half-marathon in October.
For Real!
What’s more, she’s raised a mind-blowing $10,000 for clean water in Africa so that little girls like her can grow up healthy because they have access to something my 2-year-old can turn on and off without even thinking about it.
Clean. Water.

Access to clean water saves lives.
While access to the Living Water of salvation through Jesus Christ saves souls for eternity.
We must not divorce these two!
We are called to share the fullness of the gospel and intertwine it with loving others in the nitty gritty real stuff of everyday life from digging wells, fighting for equal rights, supporting abortion clinics, and passing out food to those less fortunate.

Drink in Psalm 146 and joyously celebrate our God of Justice:
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
….who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry,
The Lord sets prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
He watches over the foreigner,
He upholds the widow and the fatherless.

This is our God, Ladies!
A God of freedom for all.
A God who stoops low to love well.
A God who fights for the oppressed.
A God of justice.
A God who never ignores people,
never side-steps issues to sweep them under the rug,
and never is blind to injustice,
but is a righteous Defender of the weak!

Looking at this list of those the Lord loves to defend, who do you know who fits these categories?
Who do you see that is
oppressed,
hungry,
in prison,
handicapped,
weighed down,
is a foreigner,
a widow,
or an orphan?

Yes, sister, we are called to share the gospel.
We are called to ministry in the church body.
We are called to encourage the saints (our fellow Christians).
But sharing the fullness of the gospel,
extends far beyond
words we say,
prayers we pray,
or classes we teach at church.
We are called beyond the safe walls of our homes, and churches, and carpool lines, and grocery aisles.
We are called to outside of us.

Plead with the Lord, this Maker of all, who cares so deeply and intimately about His creation,
to break your heart over what breaks His own.
Beg the Spirit to peel away the blinders on your eyes and truly see beyond yourself to the least of these.
Those you don’t like,
those you feel defensive against or look down upon,
those who clearly need the gospel as much as we do.
Then, fueled by the love of a Father who gave to you, choose to give yourself away for another.

Help Addy raise money for wells in Africa.
Adopt a family in need.
Partner with your local women’s clinic to help save unborn lives.
Go inner city and look under bridges and behind old warehouses for the souls who feel like they’ve been abandoned by humanity and God.
Find Them.
See Them.
LOVE THEM LIKE JESUS!
Love them like the God of Justice!

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

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

Borders Day 12
Miracle Working God: Digging Deeper

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Digging Deeper Days...are a pretty big deal at GT!

We search God's Word together, ask questions as we read, dig around to find the original intentions at the time of writing, and then make some applications to our everyday lives.
Along the way, we hope you'll pick up some new tools to study Scripture and you'll see truth in a new and accessible way!
Dig In!

The Passage

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Ezekiel 37:1-14 English Standard Version (ESV)

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

The Questions

1) What is the context of this passage and who are the characters?

2) Is the question in verse 3 a “trick question”? What are its implications?

3) Why is there a distinction between bodies coming alive without breath and having breath?

4) What is the conclusion of this incredible object lesson?

The Findings for Intention

1) What is the context of this passage and who are the characters?
Jerusalem had been ruined, the temple destroyed, and the Jews have been taken captive and were now displaced in Babylon. The Jews had hit rock bottom; for all practical purposes, they were dead and felt deserted. BUT GOD. He called Ezekiel out to a plain (or valley), and spoke to him. God had neither forgotten nor abandoned His beloved people. The players on the scene are the dry bones, the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord God, and the breath of His Spirit.

2) Is the question in verse 3 a “trick question”? What are its implications?
If we were to visit a morgue and pull out a body that had long since died and asked, “Can this person come alive,” we would scoff. Of course not! For all of our technology and forward strides and theology and psychology, dead is still dead. God’s point in asking this question is to quite vividly show Ezekiel that where man’s ability ends, the Lord’s only begins. Israel had to stop looking for other things to satisfy them, please them, and heal them. They were beyond sick, they were held in captivity and only God could revive them.

3) Why is there a distinction between bodies coming alive without breath and having breath?
Let’s journey farther back to Garden of Eden to get a good look at this question. Genesis 2:7 says, “then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” God is the author of life, and it begins and ends with His breath, His Spirit, HE is the source of life. Ezekiel could prophesy all day long, but without the breath of the Lord, those bones were still just dead men…..impressive dead men, but still dead men.

4) What is the conclusion of this incredible object lesson?
The point of the Lord’s miraculous visual lesson is stated twice. Once at the beginning, and once in the conclusion: “That you shall know that I am the Lord.” Only the Almighty can being life where death has reigned, only the Almighty can bring a scattered Israel back home and rebuild them from having been delivered into captivity. The conclusion is the glory of the Lord!

The Everyday Application

1) What is the context of this passage and who are the characters?
What’s probably most interesting to me about this unique scene in biblical narrative is that God intentionally chose to use Ezekiel. God could have made the army of dead men come alive without the prophet’s words. But He didn’t. He wanted His glory to be made known, His truth declared over Israel, and He wanted Ezekiel to play a role in that. Sister! The same is true for us!! The Almighty wants His glory to be made known as He rescues sinners for eternity, He wants the truth of who we were made to be to be sung over us, and He invites us to be part of it! In what ways are you making His glory known and declaring His truth? Are you pushing your comfortable boundaries away to make room for His Spirit to do the unbelievable?!

2) Is the question in verse 3 a “trick question”? What are its implications?
Until we realize exactly how desperate we are without the Lord, we will never be able to understand why we need Him so much. You and I….we are sinners. Not mistakers. Not “good people”. Not well meaning. We are sinners, falling perpetually short of God’s standard for holiness. And we will never, ever attain His favor on our own. That’s dire. That’s desperate. That’s hopelessly dead. And it’s exactly the picture God wants us to see about ourselves. Not to condemn us or walk all over us, but to extend His Good News of grace and love and forgiveness and redemption and freedom. Until we can see how desperate we are, we can’t see how richly gracious God is!

3) Why is there a distinction between bodies coming alive without breath and having breath?
The picture of bones coming to life with sinews and marrow and flesh is mind-blowing, but when you consider that they weren’t “alive” until the Spirit of the Lord fell on them, it’s breathtaking as we see the parallel to today. Those women at the office, those neighbor boys who seem so nice, that elderly man who sits on his front porch, that cashier with the smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes…..these are the dead bones walking around, faking at life, grasping for abundance, but finding emptiness. Until the Spirit’s breath falls on them, making them new and alive to the Lord, they are dead….perhaps impressively adorned on the outside, but still dead. Are you willing to speak life over them?!

4) What is the conclusion of this incredible object lesson?
The same conclusion that was intended for Ezekiel and Israel is the same for you and I right now in our everyday moments. “That you shall know that I am the Lord.” He is the Almighty, He is for us, He is with us, and He delights in inviting us in to what He is doing in order to declare boldly through us to a sick and dying world that He alone is the Lord God Almighty! One, glorious day the Lord God will “open (our) graves, and raise (us) from the dead,” as He returns victoriously, once and for all declaring Death to be the loser and Life to be the eternal victor! Christ will come back, claim those who have trusted in Him as His own, and we will live with Him forever! Truly a miracle working God!

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I Can Do That!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read through it (always more than a verse or two).
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!

The Community!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Borders Week Three!
Don’t miss out on the discussion – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

The Tools!

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

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. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? 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 :-))

The Why!

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.

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.
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Looking for other journeys from this theme?
See all past studies in Borders!