pleasure

The GT Weekend! ~ Questions 2 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) One of the most prevalent questions in our shared human experience is, “What is the meaning of life?”. We have found many different ways to answer this question on our own terms, but Monday’s Journey Study brought us face-to-face with one of the most common false answers and also with the truth. Many people think that getting the most pleasure out of life is what “it’s all about”, but God tells us glorifying Him and remaining in close relationship with Him is the only path to true fulfillment. How have you regarded fun and pleasure in your own life? Have you placed the false promise of pleasure above your need for relationship with God? If I’m honest, I frequently choose pleasure over relationship with God. While it is not wrong to find pleasure in our lives, when pleasure becomes a stumbling block to following Christ, we must make a choice. Will we follow God’s will or the siren call of “fun?”  Write down two ways you can choose to forego a pleasure that is tripping you up and choose to glorify God instead. This may look like fasting from social media for a time or giving up a certain TV show that is fun, but not glorifying to God. Ask God to show you where you can bring Him the most glory.

2) You may have heard it said that all religions are basically the same. They all boil down to the idea that if you are a good person and do good things, you will go to heaven when you die. Contrary to this common belief, the astonishing truth is following Christ means acknowledging you cannot be a good person or do enough good things to get to Heaven. Jesus is the only way to Heaven. On Wednesday, we saw how believing in Jesus and receiving His grace is the only way for us to be saved. Have we taken the time to really reflect on the wonder of this truth? God’s grace doesn’t depend on our ability to “be good.” God lavishes His grace on us even when we least deserve it. Sister, do you believe that? Or have you been burning the candle at both ends working to try to earn God’s favor? If you believe in the work Jesus did for you on the cross, you can take time today to rest in Him. Thank Him that His work is enough and find comfort in knowing you are secure in His grace.

3) Have your conversations with God ever felt one-sided? You sit down to pray, asking God for your deepest heart-felt desires and then… nothing. All is quiet. You wonder why you even bothered to try. Then as time goes by, you keep bringing your requests before Him, asking Him to do as He promised. And one day, your prayers are answered. Maybe not the way you had thought they would be, but God proved Himself faithful in the end. I have many stories of times I had all but given up on God answering my prayers, and yet, He has never failed me. If you don’t have any stories of answered prayers, I would challenge you to go back and look at past prayers. Look for the ways God has been working in your life. If you don’t have any prayers to look back on, start today. Write down your requests and your prayers to God. Then eagerly look to see how He answers them. When you see how God works in your life through your prayers, write down what you observe and thank Him for His faithfulness. Remember the truth that God gives good gifts to His children, and glorify Him when He shows up for you!

Praying Scripture back to the One who wrote it in the first place is a great way to jump start our prayer-life! Pray this passage from Ephesians 1:3-8 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight.

Prayer Journal
Praise the Lord! Praise His holy name forever! You, oh Lord, give meaning to our lives. You make a way for us to behold Your goodness. You hear our prayers. Forgive me Lord for the ways I have neglected to glorify You in my life. Forgive me for the ways I have chosen pleasure and comfort over Your good plan for my life. Help me to identify the idols in my heart that draw me away from You. Thank You that I do not need to earn Your grace, but that while I was yet a sinner, You gave your life for me. Help me to treasure the gift You have given me and to share it eagerly with others. Most of all, I thank You for hearing my prayers and giving me just what I need, even when I do not know how to ask.  Forgive me for my neglect of prayer and my disregard for Your faithful answers. Help my heart to be attuned to the wonder of Your glorious answers to my prayers. .Help me to say, “the Lord has helped me to this point!”

Worship Through Community

Can we pray for you? Reach Out! We’d love to pray for and with you!
Send us an email at prayer@gracefullytruthful.com

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Share how God spoke to you today!
Comment Here or in our Facebook Community Group!

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Questions 2 Day 2 Let’s Party: 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 Let’s Party!

The Questions

1) Who is speaking in this passage and why would they test themselves with pleasure? (verse 1)

2) What is significant about the author’s pleasures he chose to indulge in? (verses 3-8)

3) What was the author’s conclusion of pursuing pleasure? (verses 9-11)

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

I said to myself, “Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good.” But it turned out to be futile. 2 I said about laughter, “It is madness,” and about pleasure, “What does this accomplish?” 3 I explored with my mind the pull of wine on my body—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—and how to grasp folly, until I could see what is good for people to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.

4 I increased my achievements. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. 5 I made gardens and parks for myself and planted every kind of fruit tree in them. 6 I constructed reservoirs for myself from which to irrigate a grove of flourishing trees. 7 I acquired male and female servants and had slaves who were born in my house. I also owned livestock—large herds and flocks—more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. 8 I also amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered male and female singers for myself, and many concubines, the delights of men. 9 So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem; my wisdom also remained with me. 10 All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure, for I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles. 11 When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

Original Intent

1) Who is speaking in this passage and why would they test themselves with pleasure? (verse 1)
Often, the beginning of a biblical book provides us with its place in the timeline of history, which is extremely important to correctly understanding it in its cultural setting, as well as stating the author’s name along with, generally, some idea of their career or place in society. Ecclesiastes 1:1 does not disappoint and reveals this book contains “The words of the Teacher, son of David, King of Jerusalem.” While David had multiple sons, the fact the author noted himself as “King of Jerusalem” narrows the possible authors down to 1, Solomon. (1 Kings 1:15-30) Solomon, the son of King David, was given the throne on David’s death, but was also given vast wisdom, keen understanding, and riches beyond measure by the Lord. (1 Kings 3:5-14) This gift from God’s wisdom granted Solomon insight into all manner of areas including kingly reign, justice, human relationships, and even scientific exploration that was radically advanced for his day. However, God didn’t give Solomon all wisdom, rather He allowed Solomon’s wisdom to pair with curiosity, which gave him the gift of exploring life in deeper ways. When Solomon “said to (himself), “Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good” (verse 1), it comes on the heels of the closing of chapter 1:12-18, where we find Solomon had deeply explored wisdom and understanding to find the purpose and fullest satisfaction of life. Having explored book learning and human interaction and hard work and finding them all “a pursuit of the wind” (verse 17), he turns his attention to pleasure to find the source of lasting satisfaction.

2) What is significant about the author’s pleasures he chose to indulge in? (verses 3-8)
Self-seeking. Every single one of Solomon’s pleasures he chose to envelope himself within hinged upon himself. What could make him happy, or happiest? This was his pursuit, and the list is quite lengthy. Wine and the alluring pull of alcohol, he tried it. (verse 3) Hard work and accomplishment, he invested long hours and much money. (verses 4-5) He tried his hand at civil engineering and architecture. (verse 6) He lived in the lap of luxury to the nth degree, nothing was out of his reach. He wanted for nothing and acquired so many slaves that his every wish was their command. (verses 7-8) The finest entertainment was available at his demand whether it was the arts or sexual fulfillment. (verse 8) Solomon created an environment where he was the center. Not one thing on his lengthy list of impressive wealth accumulations, status, power, and access to pleasure was earmarked for the disposal of anyone but himself. Pleasure, with its attractive power, exclusively tugs one person into its gravitational pull, leaving all others out. Pleasure is about one person, self, and Solomon certainly experienced this reality as he explored the source of true and lasting satisfaction.

3) What was the author’s conclusion of pursuing pleasure? (verses 9-11)
Literally everything was accessible to Solomon as he stated, “I did not refuse myself any pleasure” (verse 10), with the exception of one. Satisfaction. In the end, all of his years of pleasure seeking were summed up by his own words, “When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.” (verse 11) The only reward was the momentary pleasure his pursuits brought him at that time, but nothing that lasted. “I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles.” (verse 10) Permanent pleasure was not compatible with the ever-elusive satisfaction Solomon sought. The king observed everyone around him pursuing pleasure, yet, once he did the same, he walked away with the wise understanding that nothing satisfied for everything was fleeting like “pursuing the wind”. (verse 11)

Everyday Application

1) Who is speaking in this passage and why would they test themselves with pleasure? (verse 1)
One of the most common questions every human heart asks is, “What is my purpose?”. Solomon, even with all of his wisdom, asked the same question and explored many avenues to discover true, lasting happiness and purpose. While he had studied wisdom and book learning and how people live out their lives, he found it all to be repetitive and, in the end, meaningless. What things have you pursued in order to find true satisfaction? Maybe you’ve invested time, energy, and resources, all with the hope of finally being happy and finding a purpose that doesn’t fade away. I know I have, many times in many ways. I’ve spent the majority of my married years placing my identity and focused energy in my kids and in working to manage (err, manipulate, actually) my husband into loving me and responding to me in the way that makes me the happiest and most satisfied. Not only did my attempt to find lasting happiness in my marriage and kids prove to be utterly unsuccessful by my own manipulation, it also was (yes, caught me again, still is) incredibly un-loving. No relationship will ever be able to satisfy me. No amount of pleasure found through any source will have the endurance to sustain my unquenchable desire to be perfectly and continuously happy. Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes to lay out his research and his conclusion was that only in God do we find out greatest delight. Jesus reiterated this truth when He said, “I have come so they may have life and have it in abundance.” (John 10:10) For me, I’ve found this to be abundantly true as well. Only when I shift my eyes off trying to wring pleasure out of my relationships and onto Jesus, have I found long-lasting and sweetly satisfying delight in both Jesus and my human relationships. Only Jesus offers satisfaction that lasts, truly everything else is meaningless in comparison.

2) What is significant about the author’s pleasures he chose to indulge in? (verses 3-8)
Solomon explored many different types of pleasure. Perhaps some of them are specifically tempting to you, or maybe none of them, but every human being longs to find delight and be satisfied in something. Solomon’s list of delights was lengthy and specific. I wonder what might fill your list if you were to specifically name them. I challenged myself to do this and was surprised at how easy it was to not only create a very specific list, but also how defensive and quick to justify my choices I became as I called them out by name.  A clean house. No wait. A clean house that someone else cleans. My internal voice continued with a decently good justification for this desire, “I actually pretty much deserve someone else to clean my house. I’ve maintained our home for 19 years, without a break. And my husband never seems to jump in and help me anyways. In fact, I need someone to clean for me. Think of all the other things I could do! Like, nap instead of pick up after others. Maybe someone else could cook for me too….” How quickly my focus became myself to the exclusion, and even demeaning of others, as I thought of how to please myself. One self-serving desire led straight to another without any hinderance at all. The whole practice was a little disconcerting, honestly. This pursuit of self-seeking pleasure runs in direct contradiction to the call of Jesus. He says that to follow Him, we must deny ourselves. (Luke 9:23) Just as there isn’t one thing in Solomon’s list that lent itself to sacrifice for another, neither did my list, and I’m guessing your honest list, if given free reign, wouldn’t include others either. Self-seeking pleasure and sacrifice live in constant opposition.

3) What was the author’s conclusion of pursuing pleasure? (verses 9-11)
If you take the challenge to read through the relatively short book of Ecclesiastes, you’ll find King Solomon’s concluding refrain of “nothing to be gained under the sun” repeated often as he studies the intricacies of life, relationships, work, academics, and pursuits of all kinds. The whole book can feel melancholy and a bit dismal, which should be taken to heart by all of us. At the beginning of his reign, King Solomon submitted himself to the wisdom of God, recognizing his own human failings and weaknesses, especially in light of the vast endlessness of the Almighty. (1 Kings 3:7-9) This position, Solomon later wrote, is the beginning of wisdom. True wisdom. (Proverbs 1:7) Wisdom that says only the Lord can bring lasting delight. Solomon was right, there really is nothing new under the sun. If we look at our possessions and our pursuits, and even our relationships, and then cast our eyes to eternity, we should shudder in our shoes. Nothing new under the sun. Everything will fade away except the Word of the Lord. (Isaiah 40:8) What will actually last forever? What is worth giving ourselves for? Jesus. Pursuing Jesus. When we surrender the whole of our everything to Him, and Him alone, He fills us with good things. (Matthew 7:11) Delightful things. Satisfyingly sweet things. Things that won’t entangle our hearts, tempting us to love ourselves more than our Savior as long as we fix our eyes on Christ alone. So, Sister, having studied this wise, ancient king, I’m thinking about the things I can start dethroning from my must-have-pleasure-list so I can give my everything to the Only King worthy of my everything. What about you?

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with Let’s Party!

Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

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

Digging Deeper Community

Share What You’ve Learned!
Pray Together!
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Our Current Study Theme!

This is Questions 2 Week One!
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Why Dig Deeper?

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

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

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

Study Tools

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

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

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

Memorize It!

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

Questions 2 Day 1 Let’s Party

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Read His Words Before Ours!

1 Corinthians 10:23-33
Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
John 15:1-8

Questions 2, Day 1

As humans, we are constantly in search of satisfaction and pleasure. We want to feel good. One easy way to feel good is through partying. “Let’s have fun!”, we say. After all, we are social beings; doesn’t God want us to “have fun” together?

But, as Christians, should the pursuit of fun be our top priority?
Can it satisfy the yearning of our souls?

To answer these questions, we first need to understand what fun is, and what God’s Word says about it. A quick online search defined fun as:

Based on these definitions, we might decide fun is all about enjoyment and pleasure, but what does the Bible say? Unfortunately, the specific word “fun” seems to be scarce in some translations of the Bible. However, one study suggests that within Scripture, fun is synonymous with pleasure.

For example, consider Luke 8:14, when Jesus uses a story of seeds falling into different types of soil to illustrate how the Gospel is received by different audiences.

The Message translation actually uses our English word fun:

“And the seed that fell in the weeds–well, these are the ones who hear, but then the seed is crowded out and nothing comes of it as they go about their lives worrying about tomorrow, making money and having fun.”

The same passage in the New International Reader’s Version uses pleasure, instead:

“The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear the message. But as they go on their way, they are choked by life’s worries, riches, and pleasures. So they do not reach full growth.”

Not only does this verse demonstrate the synonymous nature of fun and pleasure within Scripture, but it answers an important question on the role the pursuit of fun ought to play in our lives.

Are fun and pleasure inherently sinful?

Not at all! In fact, God designed us to live in community, as a reflection of the perfect community He experiences within Himself (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Enjoying, or finding pleasure, in doing life together is a gift.

However.

When the pursuit of momentary pleasure becomes our top priority,
when we leave the bounds of healthy relationships in search of an ever-more-fleeting emotional high,
or when we shift our hearts away from gratitude to our Father as the source of the blessings of community and pleasure,
the work of the Spirit within us is choked, or crowded out.

As believers, when we are considering a fun activity or choice, we can ask ourselves:
Is it beneficial?
And does it glorify God?

Scripture explains, “‘Everything is permissible,’ but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible,’ but not everything builds up [. . .] So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:23, 31)

Perhaps someone may say in light of giving up certain pleasures for the glory of God, “If that is all about the Christian life, then it is a dull life”. I also thought that way when I had not known Christ well.

Steering clear of fun as an end unto itself can leave us feeling dull, or deprived, or even resentful, until we turn our gaze from our abstention to all the Father offers instead.
It is in knowing God in ever increasing fullness, we find He alone provides a life overflowing with abundance of joy, abundance of intimacy, and abundance of everlasting pleasure.

Even the best of earthly pleasures pale in comparison to knowing God. King Solomon, the wisest and richest king of Israel, states succinctly, “I said to myself, ‘Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good.’ But it turned out to be futile.” (Ecclesiastes 2:1)

Fun cannot give us fulfilment; we may feel excited for a moment, but as our feelings fade, we are left more frustrated. And that was the experience of Solomon. He had the money, time, and influence to try whatever he liked. Therefore, he experienced fun through a steady stream of entertainment, amassing unimaginable wealth and accomplishments, and pursuing every whim of momentary pleasure . . . but at last, it was all meaningless.

When we remain on our own, we are bound to feel empty and depressed; as a result, we seek things to amuse us. But if we are sincere with ourselves, how satisfied have those fun things left us? Haven’t they left us emptier and more depressed?

What we truly need is not momentary pleasure, but that which makes us more like our Father and deeply satisfies the yearning of our souls. True transformation, true satisfaction, and true pleasure are only found in a consistent relationship with Jesus Christ, and submission to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus said He came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10); in Him alone do we find the sacred path for our lives, fullness of joy, and eternal pleasures (Psalm 16:11).

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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 Questions 2 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 Questions 2!

Resting Day 14
The Gift of Rest: 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

Looking for yesterday’s Journey Post? Check out The Gift of Rest!

Genesis 1:26-31 English Standard Version (ESV)

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

The Questions

1) What is indicated by the word “us” in verse 26?

2) What does it mean to be created in God’s image?

3) What does it mean that mankind should have dominion over the earth?

The Findings for Intention

1) What is indicated by the word “us” in verse 26?
The plural form used when God is speaking here is an indication of the Trinity. Even from before the creation of the world, God existed in three persons, and here we see their active involvement in creating mankind. The “us” is also indicative of completeness, fullness, or entire “whole”, meaning that, even here in from the very beginning, God was the God. There was no other god, nor will there ever be. All authority is His alone.

2) What does it mean to be created in God’s image?
These verses clearly state that mankind was made in the image of God, after His likeness. This is in contrast to how the rest of creation was made—only humans bear God’s image. The doctrine of the image of God (the Imago Dei) is fleshed out throughout Scripture. It means that we, as humans, were created with not just bodies, but with souls or spirits. We resemble God in the way think and reason and make choices (mentally), how we understand that there is right and wrong (morally), and in the way we interact in relationships with one another and with God (socially). Because we bear God’s image, human beings have the greatest value of all creation.

3) What does it mean that mankind should have dominion over the earth?
God commanded mankind to fill the earth and subdue it, and to have dominion over it. God created mankind to have authority over the rest of creation. He gave us the fruit of the earth for food, which indicated that the plants were created for us. The command to “subdue” the earth means to bring it into subjection for mankind’s needs. While this does not indicate that we are to be wasteful or poor stewards, the earth was put under mankind’s authority by God.

The Everyday Application

1) What is indicated by the word “us” in verse 26?
Father God, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit, thank You for being eternally present and for showing that your unity existed in time past as it does now. Thank You for working in Your mysterious triune way to create the world and redeem it. Praise You for holding all power. Nothing can stand against You!

2) What does it mean to be created in God’s image?
Never forget, dear sister in Christ, that you are an image bearer of the Creator of the world! You were specifically designed to showcase who He is! Though sin has taken its toll on all of us, through our salvation, we are being made new again, and it is possible through the Holy Spirit in us to properly display that image to a hurting world. You have infinite value because of Who designed you!

3) What does it mean that mankind should have dominion over the earth?
The earth was created for us. We must be good stewards of this beautiful world, but we must never forget that God designed us to have authority over the earth—and he gave us the capability to learn to rule it well and care for it well.

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
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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 Resting 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.
Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

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