Pause V Day 4 Holiness
Pause V, Day 4
“Zeal for your house will consume Me.”
We read these words in John 2:17. They were originally spoken by God in Numbers 25:13. The disciples remembered them as Jesus was cleansing the Temple of the crooked money changers and sellers. God’s house, the temple, would not be filled with unholiness on Jesus’ watch. He was determined to purify that which was unclean because of selfish sinfulness.
When Nicodemus came to see Him in the middle of the night, sensing God was certainly at work, Jesus described the only process available for sinful man to be purified and made righteous before God. As with the temple, this holiness is only made possible through Jesus.
“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
Holiness, that rebirth from sin and death into eternal life and the righteousness of God, can only be obtained by trusting in Jesus. (John 14:6) God is so consumed with love for us that He made a way for us unholy people to be made new, whole, and cleansed so that one day we can stand in His Holy Presence as perfectly righteous because of Christ Jesus! (2 Corinthians 5:21)
We are never holy in and of ourselves, but we can have the righteousness of God, through Christ. Have you accepted this gift? If not, I urge you to Read His Words and consider responding to the invitation of John 3:16. For those who have, where is He specifically calling us to deeper surrender in our everyday lives that His righteousness might shine more fully through us?
Today's Challenge
1) Be a scribe and copy the precious words of Scripture down word for word. Make space in your journal to write down John 3-14-21 after you read the full passage of today’s reading in John 2:13-25 and John 3. As you copy, lookup a cross reference or two as you come to them (they are the small letters next to certain words in your study Bible or online at www.biblia.com). As you write, think of the incredible gift it is to be invited into God’s presence through His word!
2) Choose one of these options to walk into more with Jesus as you make the intentional choice to grow with perseverance and determination!
a) Pitch in to do something extra at church. Whether it’s helping with cleanup, opening doors, trimming weeds, or offering to help in a child’s classroom, step up to loving deeper by serving in a new way.
b) October is Pastor Appreciation Month and a note of genuine kindness goes a long way in showing love and giving encouragement. Consider sending your pastor an email or card!
c) Check out some local ministries in your area and make plans to serve with them for an afternoon. Maybe it’s organizing school donations, serving soup, or stuffing backpacks for kids. Even better, get some friends to join you!
d) Prayer walking is a simple way to begin shifting the eyes of your heart to truly see others. Walk around your neighborhood, some city streets, the aisles of your grocery store, or intentionally sit at a local coffee shop and pray, pray, pray. Pray for the people around you, pray for hearts to turn towards Jesus, pray for your own heart to be ready to share the full gospel if given the chance. Don’t worry about seeing results, that’s God’s job!
e) Strike up a conversation with a random stranger. It may move to spiritual topics, it may not, but showing love to those outside our immediate circles always begins with a simple conversation. “What have you been doing today?” “Do you live nearby?” “Where do you go to church?” “What are your favorite local restaurants?” “I love your top! Where did you get it?” These open-ended questions work well!
3) Share the exciting, bold ways you are growing deep today with the rest of the GT Community! Our Facebook community page is always open! Or snap a photo and tag us on Instagram @gracefully_truthful
4) Memorize John 3:20-21
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John 2:13-25
13 The Jewish Passover was near, and so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple He found people selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and He also found the money changers sitting there. 15 After making a whip out of cords, He drove everyone out of the temple with their sheep and oxen. He also poured out the money changers’ coins and overturned the tables. 16 He told those who were selling doves, “Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”
17 And his disciples remembered that it is written: Zeal for your house will consume Me.
18 So the Jews replied to Him, “What sign will you show us for doing these things?”
19 Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days.”
20 Therefore the Jews said, “This temple took forty-six years to build, and will you raise it up in three days?”
21 But He was speaking about the temple of His body. 22 So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the statement Jesus had made.
23 While He was in Jerusalem during the Passover Festival, many believed in His name when they saw the signs He was doing. 24 Jesus, however, would not entrust Himself to them, since He knew them all 25 and because He did not need anyone to testify about man; for He himself knew what was in man.
John 3
There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Him at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform these signs you do unless God were with Him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again,
|he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 “How can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked Him.
“Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?”
5 Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again. 8 The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
9 “How can these things be?” asked Nicodemus.
10 “Are you a teacher of Israel and don’t know these things?” Jesus replied.
11 “Truly I tell you, we speak what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you do not accept our testimony. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven —the Son of Man.
14 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. 16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. 18 Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the Name of the one and only Son of God.
19 This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. 21 But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that His works may be shown to be accomplished by God.”
22 After this, Jesus and His disciples went to the Judean countryside, where He spent time with them and baptized. 23 John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People were coming and being baptized, 24 since John had not yet been thrown into prison. 25 Then a dispute arose between John’s disciples and a Jew about purification. 26 So they came to John and told him, “Rabbi, the one you testified about, and who was with you across the Jordan, is baptizing—and everyone is going to Him.”
27 John responded, “No one can receive anything unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I’ve been sent ahead of him.’ 29 He who has the bride is the groom. But the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the groom’s voice. So this joy of mine is complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”
31 The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth is earthly and speaks in earthly terms. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, and yet no one accepts his testimony. 33 The one who has accepted his testimony has affirmed that God is true. 34 For the one whom God sent speaks God’s words, since He gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hands. 36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.
How Does “Pause” Work?
1. Each day, Monday through Friday, for 3 weeks, we will provide you with a simple challenge. Each challenge is designed for you to engage with the Almighty in a deeper way and perhaps in a new way than you have been recently.
2. Having a journal is a must! You’ll want to take notes as you walk this special Journey of Pause.
3. Each week focuses on one or two passage of Scripture and we walk with you as you study and flesh these out for yourself. As you write your thoughts, read His Word, and pray, questions might come up. That’s Perfect! Ask a trusted fellow believer, a pastor, or send us an email as you work through them!
4. Jumping in at the middle? No problem! Here is the entire Journey Theme.
5. Connect with others on Facebook by visiting our GT Community Group!
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 Pause V 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 Pause V!