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The Word

Fervent Day 5 Character Counts

February 19, 2021 by Sara Cissell Leave a Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

Ephesians 3:16-21
Acts 9:1-26
Psalm 111:1-10

Fervent, Day 5

I have been blessed with amazing parents. The Lord has used them and their examples to shape me in innumerable ways throughout my life.

Sitting down to prepare for this study helped me see another such way they impacted me.

Recently, a friend of mine had unexpected car trouble and needed a ride. As it was the middle of a work day, I could not leave to help. However, I knew my parents might be available. I texted them and quickly got a response they could come to the rescue.

In this scenario, I confidently knew if my parents were not in the middle of another commitment, they would be willing to help. Over the years, they’ve shown their hearts are to serve and demonstrate the love of the Lord in tangible ways.
This pattern enabled me to ask with humble expectation. 

Just as I had confidence to ask my parents for help, Paul had confidence to pray according to the proven character of the Lord. His rich history with the Father enabled him to pray with faith and fervency.

That history began when Paul, formerly known as Saul, hunted those who loved Christ. His first encounters with the Lord involved witnessing the faith of those he persecuted. How must Saul have been impacted by the faithfulness of the Lord shown to someone literally suffering for believing in Him?

The road to Damascus encounter shifted Paul’s world, and he became as those he’d once hunted. His knowledge of the law became a foundation for freedom as he learned to walk with the Truth. The fervency with which Saul once attacked Christians became the fervency with which Paul sought to spread the Gospel.

Paul did not lead an easy life. He experienced great persecution throughout his missionary journeys. Beatings, shipwrecks, and imprisonments are only a few of his documented trials. I have no doubt Paul’s understanding of the Lord’s character carried him through every struggle. Because Paul boldly walked with the Lord in his private life, he was able to carry that boldness into his public life. The God he knew first in intimate prayer, was the God he depended on in persecution and trial. Prayer was the undercurrent weaving both together with integrity. Paul captured his encounters, both public and private, in writing so we have powerful examples of perseverance, humility, and faithfulness.

While I haven’t experienced the degree of challenges Paul did, the Lord has revealed His character to me by faithfully walking me through every season of my life. For instance, I waited for my husband for decades (for the record, I did not start counting at birth!). I relied heavily on the Lord and Scripture throughout those years. I believed I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13-14), that He would never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5-6), and many other promises in the Word. He poured into me sustaining contentment because I knew He is faithful.

Ironically, but probably not surprisingly, the arrival of my husband presented new and intense opportunities to lean heavily on the Lord’s character and deepen my prayer life. We married as the pandemic shut down the world, and I stepped into an overwhelming whirlwind of change.

In the midst of a season when almost all of my identity markers have shifted, I have rooted myself in who the Lord says I am and trusted He would remain true to His character, bringing to pass what He desired in me. (1 Thessalonians 5:24)

I am deeply thankful for the answered prayer of my husband and all the growth my marriage has already evoked in me. I am even more appreciative that, as my world tumbles into a new normal, the Lord faithfully remains the same. Knowing I can call on Him and will surely find Him enables me to pray with confidence and purpose.

Trust His character and pray with confidence. He is faithful!

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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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Posted in: Character, Christ, Deep, Faith, Faithfulness, Fervent, Gospel, Paul, Prayer, Purpose, Scripture, Truth Tagged: confidence, hearts, humility, intimate, Lord, persecution, rooted, The Word

Reveal Day 7 Filling The Empty: Digging Deeper

December 15, 2020 by Rebecca Leave a Comment

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 Filling The Empty!

The Questions

1) Who is the Word? (verse 1)

2) In what way did the Word “come to His own”? (verses 10-11)

3) What does it mean that “He has revealed Him?” (verse 18)

John 1:1-13

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, 13 who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.

Original Intent

1) Who is the Word? (verse 1)
John didn’t write about the Word so as to invoke a mystery, he wrote to make one truth abundantly clear. Jesus IS God. Not a god. Not a good man. Not a great prophet. Jesus is God; the very fullness of God dwelled in Him. (Colossians 1:19) If it is true about God, John writes, it is also true of the Word. The total equality of power, authority, will, and sovereignty is made abundantly clear right from the start of John’s gospel. A gospel record which, by the way, focuses every story on the unequivocal identity of Jesus Christ as God. Are we absolutely certain the Word is indeed Jesus Christ? Without a single hint of doubt! John says the Word carried life within Him (verse 4), a life described as the “light of the word” (verse 9), of whom, John (the Baptist) was a forerunner testifying of this coming Light. (verses 7-8) John describes the Word as coming to His own, and His own did not receive Him. (verse 12) Making his point more clear, John adds that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (verse 14) Beyond all imaginings, the Word, who is God, now put on human skin! The fullness of God wrapped in frail flesh and bone, coming as a helpless baby born to a virgin girl. Fully God, and fully man, this Word did not come in secret to a few select people, but He was widely-known and countless people testified of Him, including John who wrote this gospel a mere 60 years after Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. This allowed for plenty of time for readers of his gospel to interview and cross reference with other witnesses who had walked with Jesus to verify all John testified of this Word made flesh. (verses 14-15) To remove all potential remaining doubt as to the identity of the Word, God in the flesh, John writes, “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—He has revealed Him.” (verses 17-18)

2)
In what way did the Word “come to His own”? (verses 10-11)
John wrote his gospel so that all would understand that Jesus is indeed God, but more so, that they would believe in His Name so they could experience adoption as children of God. (verse 12) It’s only when we put our full trust on who John describes Jesus as (fully God, fully human) and on everything Jesus taught we can become a child of God. This is the “receiving” John wrote of in verse 12. John said Jesus “was in the world, and the world was created through Him, and yet the world did not recognize Him.” (verse 10) Every tree, flower, smile, gentle breeze, human bone, and intricate eyeball screams of a loving Creator God who is infinitely wise and infinitely interested in His creation, yet the One who crafted every fingerprint, wasn’t recognized as He came and dwelt among His people. Though He clothed Himself in human skin and hair, moved in miraculous ways only God could, healed broken bodies, and fulfilled every Old Testament prophecy about Himself, they still chose unbelief. He “came to His own, but His own did not receive Him.” (verse 11) Even as far back in the Old Testament as the moment the first sin was acknowledged by humans before God, He promised One who would come to crush the head of Satan, forever ending death and suffering. (Genesis 3:15) Throughout all of history since that moment, the Lord God has crafted events and prophetic messages to point to the coming of His promised Messiah. Finally, as Jesus was born, and God was present in the flesh with His people, the Jews rejected Him. (Acts 2:22-23)

3) What does it mean that “He has revealed Him?” (
verse 18)
By looking at these words alone, the pronouns become nonsensical, which is why it is always critically important to study Scripture by reading a whole passage, not just a single soundbite. We must first understand the message in its original setting before we can make any application to our lives today. (for more on this, see “Why Do We Dig Deeper?”) Verse 18 says in full, “No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side—He has revealed Him.” While there were occurrences of people seeing some of God’s glory as He allowed it (Exodus 33:18-19), Scripture teaches no one can see God and live. (Exodus 33:20) He is perfectly holy, and we are utterly sinful. There is no possible way for sin to stand in His presence. “Lord, if you kept an account of iniquities, Lord, who could stand?” (Psalm 130:3) The only way we could possibly “see” God was for Him to come to us in human form. John was careful with his words to express to us, “…The one and only Son, who is Himself God, and is at the Father’s side…” No one can tell us who God is like, except God Himself. There is only One authority able to accurately convey the fullness of Who He Is. God Himself. At the time of John’s writing, Jesus had already ascended back to Heaven and taken His place at the right hand of the Father. Note that John was again careful to make a distinction by saying Jesus was at the right hand of the Father. Both of them, along with the Holy Spirit, are fully God together. They are triune; 3 equally divine beings in 1 God. Finally, we come to the phrase, “He has revealed Him”. Now that we have slowed down for proper understanding, it is clear Jesus, fully God, came in human form, to make the unseen God seen and knowable. What incredible humility and love!

Everyday Application

1) Who is the Word? (verse 1)
I could sit with just these few verses of Scripture for the rest of my life and never unpack their fullness; they are so rich! That being said, the very first verse, only consisting of 17 words, leaves absolutely zero wiggle room about the identity of the Word. These last 4 words of sentence one set the bedrock foundation for e v e r y t h i n g else we read in John. What four words you ask? “…the Word was God.” Ladies, this is the biggest mic drop in history, and John wanted to make sure his readers didn’t even move onto a second sentence before understanding that this “Word” not only was “with” God from the very beginning of Creation, He Is God. Everything that could be said about God, can also be said of the Word. It can be hard to identify, much less tear down, our own false beliefs we have about who Jesus is as the fullness of God. I was blessed to be raised in a home where the truth that Jesus was God was taught over and over, but even so, I held a number of false beliefs about God when I left my family of origin. It took my marriage careening towards divorce, suffering depression, and surviving my suicide plans, before I was willing to finally, level the tower of my long-held beliefs. What I thought was true, just wasn’t adding up in real life. Too many questions didn’t have answers, and I needed answers. I decided to read the Bible for myself, forcing myself to remove the thick lenses of my past, and study God’s Word for what it really said. God was faithful to teach me Who He really was, and, praise God, He has continued to show me over and over who He is, and always will be!

2)
In what ways did the Word “come to His own”? (verses 10-11)
This is the single greatest tragedy known to mankind. That we would choose to reject the very Author of Life, deciding instead to clench our fists around ourselves, our own arbitrary measure of “good enough”, or our own twisted perception of who God is and what He is like, this tragedy will result in our eternal separation from Him. We will be utterly lost in unending darkness, forever suffering without the good, kind, forgiving God, who is Himself Light and Love. (Matthew 7:21-23) Amid swirling conversations and social debates on who this Jesus really was because He spoke and acted like He had the power of God, but looked like an ordinary man, Jesus asked this question to His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”. (Matthew 16:15) Peter rightly answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” (Matthew 16:16) Who do you say Jesus is? Is He the Messiah, the Christ, the promised One from the beginning of time? Is He exactly who John, and rest of Scripture, declare Him to be as God Himself? Jesus followed up Peter’s response with this affirmation, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father in Heaven.” (Matthew 16:17) If you aren’t convinced Jesus is precisely who He claimed, ask the Father to reveal it to your heart. Be certain you know Who you are believing in!  

3) What does it mean that “He has revealed Him?” (verse 18)
It would be easy for us, sitting at the tail end of 2020, to say with a bit of a scoff, “It was easy to see God when Jesus was doing miracles right in front of them.” While true, we don’t have the benefit of walking beside Jesus, watching Him sweat under a hot Judean sun, or laugh out loud when the disciples poked fun at each other. Neither can we stand beside Him in awe as He brought life from a previously dead person or straightened a once-crooked leg. Though it may not seem like it, because our culture has a love affair with instant gratification and visual experiences, Jesus said it was better for Him to leave earth. (John 16:7) “If I go, I will send Him to you.” Once Jesus left, the Holy Spirit could come, indwelling every person who fully places their trust in Jesus, the Christ, the only Holy God. Jesus couldn’t be everywhere with every person at the same time in the limits of His physical body, but through the Holy Spirit, (who is also fully God!), every believer has direct access to God at all times. He isn’t a finnicky God, deciding to leave us when we misbehave, He stays inside to forever mark us as His. (Ephesians 1:13-14) Christ Jesus died for us, the ungodly, so His righteousness could be imputed (or directly replacing our old, sinful identity) on us. (Romans 5:6-11) As the Spirit lives within hearts that believe in Jesus as the One True God, He continues revealing more about God to us through His Word. Only God can reveal God.

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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

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

Digging Deeper Community

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Why Dig Deeper?

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

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

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

Study Tools

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

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

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

Memorize It!

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Posted in: Digging Deeper, Dwell, God, Good, Gospel, Grace, Holy Spirit, Humility, Jesus, Life, Love, Power, Promises, Reveal, Scripture, Truth Tagged: Authority, empty, Filling, Forgiving, fullness, His Name, kind, Light of the World, Messiah, sovereignty, The Word

Cross Day 10 John The Disciple

April 12, 2019 by Tawnya Smith 2 Comments

Read His Words Before Ours!

John 1:1-18
John 6:27-35
Isaiah 53

Cross, Day 10

In the beginning was….

The Word. The Logos. The Image.

The very expression of Yahweh sent from heaven, to dwell among us. (John 1:14)

This Light in all of its mystery and life,
knelt down to our world to expose our darkness.
(John 1:4-9,  3:19-21, 12:46)

The very Lamb of God sent to take away the sins of the world, to make all things new,
to bring men back to God. (John 1:29)

Standing on the banks of the Jordan, watching Jesus, son of Joseph the carpenter, be baptized produced a mixture of anticipation and uncertainty in me.
Could this truly be The One Isaiah said would be given to us?
Could this be Israel’s redemption?

“For a child will be born for us,
a son will be given to us,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
He will be named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace
.” (Isaiah 9:6)

I, John, give testimony of this Word made flesh.
As John the Baptizer prepared the way, Jesus of Nazareth has come to reap the harvest of God’s kingdom. (John 3:22-30)  He called us to follow Him. First inviting Andrew, then Simon Peter, Philip and Nathaniel, then my brother James and myself.

We marveled at the speed at Jesus’ glory-following, as we baptized one after another.
James and I, known as the “Sons of Thunder”, were like a lit canon of untamed zeal and ambitious devotion.

In those early days, I could be foolish and harsh, shutting down those who didn’t fit my expectations. (Mark 9:38-41) Other times, I was arrogant and presumptuous, expecting honor for following Jesus. (Matthew 20:20-24)
My heart was on fire, but oh I had so much to learn of Jesus’ perfect balance of grace with truth.

Jesus was ushering in a new Way, a new Kingdom.
Yet, there was an ancient familiarity to Jesus.
Something in His presence, His words, His essence, spoke of Yahweh’s long prophesied suffering servant who would come and be broken, overcoming sin and oppression, for our nation. (Isaiah 53)

He called Himself the Light (John 3:19),
Living Water (John 4:10),
the Bread of Life (John 6:35),
and the Good Shepherd (John 10:11),
progressively showing us greater dimensions of Himself.

We’d seen prophets and teachers before, but Jesus was different.
Jesus performed signs, miracles and wonders no man had ever done. From healing those with life-long diseases and displaying authority over nature, to feeding thousands with hardly any food and even bringing Lazarus back from death itself.
Truly we were awestruck with each move He made!

Everywhere people murmured, questioned, and speculated if Jesus really could be the Christ. Many disputes broke out among the Pharisees, wearying us with their constant questions. After a particularly heated debate, Jesus brought the final word on His identity with one cataclysmic statement,
“Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I Am”. (John 8:58)

Did He say what we think He just said?
The Pharisees began picking up stones to kill Him.
We all knew exactly what Jesus meant.
So did He.   

Could I believe that standing before us was the great I AM?
The Same who appeared before Moses in the burning bush?
The very God whom our people have been serving from the beginning of time?

The unbridled passion of my discipleship was finally met with unwavering and sincere belief. Yes, my heart only knew one answer.
This Jesus was indeed the Son of God,
the Chosen One, the Christ,
the very expression of Yahweh.

Each glimpse of glory made my heart swell all the more, and yet ache as we watched hostility and hatred from Pharisees grow toward our long-awaited Messiah. We had grown to not only follow, but truly love Jesus. Why?
Because He first loved us. (I John 4:19)

He came not to be served, but to serve us. (Mark 10:45)
It was a stunning paradox that rattled my heart.
Little did we know we were on the cusp of His greatest service to mankind.

It began one night in the garden.
Soldiers and traitors came to arrest Jesus.  I, along with the other disciples scattered in shameful fear.  From afar, we watched a whirlwind of accusations, threats, beatings, mockery, torture and insults hurled at our beloved Jesus.

Was this really happening?  Weren’t we all just riding the wave of His glory-wonder? Weren’t we just feasting together, safely tucked away in the upper room?

And yet, it was happening and His words began to echo through our hearts.
“A little while, and you will see me no longer…”
. (John 16:16a)

Standing at his blood-drenched feet, nailed to a crucifixion cross, I knelt in heart-aching horror.  Beside me was Mary, Jesus’ mother.  With pounding hearts, we both stared up, hanging on every mustered word He could give.  When Jesus assigned me the honor of caring for His mother, and taking her as my own, a rush of new energy and devotion came over me, even as we failed to understand this mystery before us.

With His last breath, darkness covered the earth.  And our hearts.

But the Word still reverberated. “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while and you will see me” (John 16:16)…… “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19)

In a daze with wrung out hope, our hearts nearly burst within us come Sunday morning! Mary Magdalene came running through town spreading the word that Jesus’ tomb was empty, she’d actually seen his face, and that He was alive!  Later that evening, her words were confirmed. The Lord Jesus Christ appeared to us in flesh and bone!  We, the disciples were stunned and shocked back to vibrant life, now with unshakable fervor.

It all became so much clearer now. Jesus truly was the Lamb of God, sent to take away the sins of the world! What once was a hard saying, now nourished our souls.
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35) ….”For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.” (John 6:55)

He gave His flesh and blood as the final sacrifice for the sin of all mankind!
This was our rescue!  
This was our redemption!
The power of God raised Him back from death, conquering over sin and death once for all.  The promised Helper came like a rushing wind and with Him came our eternal peace. (John 14:16-17, 27)
This was our rest!

I made it my aim going forward to be a defender of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ with the same gracious humility our Savior demonstrated for us.
I will not work for food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man gave to me. I walk with confidence in His Spirit knowing that on me God the Father has set his seal (John 6:27) to be a light and guide for the faith of others.

This is the Word and He dwelt among us.

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A Note About Cross
In this series, we are stepping into the shoes of various characters in Scripture and looked through their eyes as they saw the cross. We do our best to research the culture and times and all biblical support surrounding these individuals to give an accurate representation of their first-person perspectives as they watched the crucifixion, but we can’t be 100% accurate. These first-person stories are our best interpretation of how these characters viewed Jesus as He gave Himself up for us. Our hope is that by looking through their eyes, we will see the Cross differently as well, and be dramatically changed as we encounter the Savior!
Enjoy!

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

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Cross Week Two! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Click the above image for today’s Digging Deeper!

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

Posted in: Cross, God, Gospel, Jesus, Kingdom, Love, Scripture, Shepherd Tagged: Lamb of God, redemption, rescue, sacrifice, The Word, Yahweh

Gospel Day 10 That Whosoever

March 22, 2019 by Sara Cissell 3 Comments

Read His Words Before Ours!

John 3:16-18
John 4:7-38
Luke 23:39-43

Gospel Day, 10

Confession: I can recite John 3:16 in the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible, but I am pretty sure I could not share from memory any other verse in that version. The other verses I have memorized and catalogued in my brain are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) version.

I grew up learning verses and the practice of memorizing the Word has proven it’s worth to me over and over and over again throughout my life. Verses tucked into the recesses of my mind have been breathed upon by the Holy Spirit at just the moment when I needed to hear His voice of truth. They have been guideposts, brought conviction, given hope, and provided solid lifelines. It is in the midst of these sweet reflections of the value of memorizing I am also challenged to remember to interact with the memorized verses and not just be able to recite them.
These are the words of life,
not simply a set of words attached to a place in the Bible.

As I slow down and ponder the words of John 3:16, I’m reading it in different versions as well. Today I’m focusing on the word “whosoever.” I don’t know about you, but since I am not in the legal field or one who uses the KJV routinely, “whosoever” has become more of a transition word between the beginning and end of the verse rather than a key component of the verse. However, reading the different versions have reminded me of the significance of “whosoever.”

Christian Standard Bible (CSB): everyone
The Message (MSG): anyone
NASB: whoever
The Amplified Classic (AMPC): whoever
New International Version (NIV): whoever
The promise found in John 3:16 is for everyone, anyone, and whoever.

While the other translations of the Bible help me grasp a better awareness of who is included, the KJV caused me to think of the entire verse from a legal perspective, and the covenantal love found in John 3:16 came to life: the covenant between God the Father and whosoever. He gives His son, Jesus, and eternal life through Him to whosoever believes in Him.

Many have stepped into this covenant with the Lord and been rescued from the consequences of sin, which is eternal death and separation from God. And just in case someone reading this might be disqualifying herself as a “whosoever” due to her history, let’s review a few noted individuals in Scripture.

The Woman at the Well
Are you a “whosoever” actively avoiding life currently?
So was she.
This woman went to the well during the heat of midday just to avoid interacting with others. She wore the identity of outcast based on her sordid past. Her history may well have been caused by her own choices, yet the Lord offered His relentless, covenant love. She willingly believed, surrendered her will to His, and joined the ranks of the “whosoever.”

Thief on the Cross
Are you a “whosoever” currently feeling like she is beyond redemption?
The thief on the cross literally had moments to live after living a life that led him to death by crucifixion. Yet, despite a lifetime of guilt and shame, there he encountered the Savior. After that brief interaction, he received the promise of living in Paradise with Christ on that very day!

Saul
Are you a “whosoever” battling the need to earn your relationship with the Lord?
Maybe you feel “not good enough”. Maybe you wonder if you’ll ever be enough. Maybe the burden of trying is becoming too heavy?
Saul, not yet Paul, lived a life that earned him rank and prestige among the religious leaders of the day. He had the upbringing and connections that enabled him to walk with power and impact. He met the mark for being a member of the religious community. However, it was not until his encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus that he truly experienced a relationship with Him and discovered that it’s not about doing for the Lord but being with Him.

These are just three examples of people found in the Word who chose to believe in the Lord. “Whosoevers” who made a decision forever changing their lives and their eternities.

Where do you find yourself today?
What is your whosoever story?

I encourage you to boldly acknowledge where you are today and ask the Lord to meet you there. He has proven faithful to His covenant with us over and over and over again through Scripture.
He will extend that faithful love to any whosoever who believes in Him.

I know “this whosoever” (raising my hand) writing today needed this reminder of His faithfulness to all those who came before me as I talk to God about my current whosoever status.

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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 Gospel Week Two! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Posted in: Faithfulness, God, Gospel, Jesus, Kingdom, Life Tagged: All, Anyone, everyone, John 3:16, The Word, Whosoever, Words of Life

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  • The GT Weekend! ~ Fervent Week 3 March 6, 2021
    Merry concluded our Journey Into Fervent by drawing us near to God’s heart through the call to Family. Of all the different ways we think about God, at the top should be Father. He loves us as His children and invites us to come freely to Him within the tender, deep relationship of Abba Father. […]
    Rebecca

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