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The GT Weekend! ~ Worship X Week 3

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The GT Weekend!

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

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) Know what’s good about tomorrow? It’s a new day! A clean slate. It’s even better when you know your new day comes with new mercies from God. On Monday we took a deep dive into Psalm 103 and a dip into Deuteronomy. We learned how to use Psalm 103 as a tool for pausing and focusing on the Lord’s benefits of compassion, faithful love, patience, forgiveness and renewal to name a few. Pause now and write out a prayer to the Lord for each of His benefits He brings to mind. Choose one to focus on and journal how you see it manifested in your life over this weekend. The Lord is so good to us, but how easily we forget He is constantly at work and we are reaping the benefits! We must never forget the goodness in our lives is from the Lord. Write a list of the good things you’ve recognized in your life during this Worship Journey. Praise the Lord for each of them individually. Explore Worship Nine for more on authentic adoration and “real life” worship.

2) “Is it really just noise? Or is it praises to the Lord?” Our Wednesday Journey Study answers this question. We took a walk through several Psalms, which show us how all creation responds to God’s works, which includes us as we praise God for justice and victory. Our praise, however, isn’t just intended for our words, but with instruments and songs. Our praise should be continual, in our words and in our actions. Let everything in us praise Him! Watch this worship video, https://youtu.be/2phNjrdWE28 paying close attention to the words plucked straight from Scripture. When you are done, journal how it makes you feel about praise and worship. How can you raise the level of your own worship to the Lord?

3)  On Friday, Carol wrapped up the study for us by digging deep into the third verse of Great is Thy Faithfulness. From this highly beloved hymn, we uncovered that we’ve received pardon for our sin through Jesus, our Prince of Peace. He grants us not just peace, but enduring peace. We have the presence of God with us! After all, the Holy Spirit lives in us! It is He who guides us and provides strength and hope. Our God is indeed faithful! No matter our life circumstances, we have nothing to fear. God is always right there with us, sustaining and guiding us. Read through some of the Journeys from Fruitful and journal how you see the fruitfulness of God’s faithfulness in your life. Select one of those journeys and commit to praying thanks for the next week for that aspect of His faithfulness in your life. If you want a real challenge, pray through each one!

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 Isaiah 40:28-29 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never becomes faint or weary; there is no limit to his understanding. He gives strength to the faint and strengthens the powerless.

Prayer Journal
O Lord, My Lord, You are the most excellent God. Lord, as I have read through this Journey, I have been convicted. I do not praise You enough. Everything good in me and everything I have is because of You. There are so many things I take for granted that I should be praising You for every day. Just like Your mercies are new every morning, so my praise should be new and lifted up to You every morning. Lord praise is due You. Let me ever praise You and appreciate all Your benefits because You are worthy.

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

Build community, be transparent, and encourage others:
Share how God spoke to you today!
Comment Here or in our Facebook Community Group!

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

The GT Weekend! ~ Worship X Week 2

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The GT Weekend!

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

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) Be still. Patience. Wait. How good are you at these? I love Sarah’s examples of David as she told of his quest for rest, and all the reasons he couldn’t find it. I recently attended a conference where I served on staff. With all the preparation and full days, it definitely didn’t speak “rest”.  While it was an incredible conference, and I was blessed to serve, the “hurry” takes a toll. We spend ourselves on good things, even “God-focused things”, and find at its end we still need rest. “Life”, with all its deadlines and busy happenings, continue its demands with earnest! More than likely, we aren’t running for our lives as David was, but we can still run ourselves to exhaustion. Perhaps we are keeping ourselves so busy we don’t hear the Lord above the din of our own lives. Be still. Patience. Wait. What would we need to move in our daily rhythms to begin excelling at these disciplines? The never ending “to do lists”, our jobs, places of service, and our families are all very good things, but the Lord never called us to burn out on these. He did call us to be still. Suppose we decide together to model our rhythms after the example of Joshua at the Tent of Meeting.  He entered the tent with the express purpose of meeting God. As he encountered Gods’ presence, he didn’t want to leave. Even when Moses left, Joshua stayed. May it be so in our lives!

2) God is faithful! Christine kept this message before us in her Journey Study this week. How often we forget this! In the midst of trying circumstances, maybe even our current one, we fail to remember God’s faithfulness! We need to practice recalling God’s ways and His character. He is our very present help in times of trouble; Christine and Mandy reminded me of this truth as they pointed to His Word! We can toil, worry, and fret but it doesn’t help anything, and only escalates our anxiety. We can take God at His word! Recording His specific provision in our lives through journaling can help us look back and see God’s faithfulness. We can see God as provider, as our refuge, and our strength. If you’ve prayer journaled for a while, take a few minutes this weekend to read backwards and praise the Lord for His faithfulness to you! If you haven’t kept a journal before, take this as your invitation to start! He is our Hope and we can praise Him, even as we walk through struggles. When we see Him faithfully providing for us, and giving us His peace, even in unsteady waters, we can tell others of His greatness! When we worship the Lord for making a way through the pain or holding us while in the middle of it, we are glorifying Him!

3) On Day 10 of our Journey Theme, Bethany reminded us to keep on trusting the Lord because we know He is faithful. This hit as a timely reminder for me as my husband is currently unemployed, which is something we’ve never experienced in our marriage. It’s daunting indeed, and the longer we go without employment, I confess that, bit by bit, the supernatural peace I experienced before being unemployed seems to slip away. As our financial cushion is chipped away for all the usual expenses, so my faith also appears to be chipping away. I am not a new believer, Sisters. I have watched others walk through these same challenges and other hard things. It’s not easy to admit my faith waivers. I thank the Lord we have provisions for a time, but the lack of open doors pushes back against my faith. Still, this I know to be true: 1) God has never left us, even in challenging seasons. 2) His peace has not completely left; I am still comforted by Him. Since these are true, I can say, “Great is His faithfulness to provide all that we need. The physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs are all under His care. Great is His faithfulness as He holds us and walks with us in this season.”

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 Psalm 71:23-24 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to You because You have redeemed me.
Therefore, my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness all day long,
for those who intend to harm me will be disgraced and confounded.

Prayer Journal
Dear Lord, in all things, may my lips praise You. In the mundane of my day, in the struggle of loss, in the fear of uncertainty, in every circumstance let me be known for praising You. For You alone are worthy of my praise. All the time. Even when the path seems rocky and clouds are pressing in, let me shout for joy. You are faithful and just to preserve me, faithful and just to sustain me, faithful and just to provide for me. Let me be so happy and peaceful in simply looking upon You and Your good heart that I truly confound the naysayers around me and the plain evidence of my circumstances. Lord God, I want You and only You. Let all who see my life and hear my words, whether they trust You personally or not, to become convinced of Your faithfulness because of my worship. You alone have redeemed me and called me by name. I am Yours.

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

Build community, be transparent, and encourage others:
Share how God spoke to you today!
Comment Here or in our Facebook Community Group!

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

The GT Weekend! ~ Worship X 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) The idea of praising God in the midst of challenge or pain sounds impossible at first glance. But this reveals the humanity of our perspective and the depth (or shallowness) of our faith. On Monday, Lesley pointed to David’s decision to praise the Lord despite the prolonged difficulties he faced. She also challenged us to consider the justice of God as He acts on our behalf to protect and defend His people. It’s easy for us to view our pain or unjust treatment and determine God to be unfair and unjust because He has not resolved our pain on our timetable. This reveals how small our box is that holds our faith and our beliefs about God and His character. David’s songs stand out as often declaring the character of God, reminding himself of God’s promises, even in the mire of trials. Challenge yourself to keep a list on your phone over the next few days of God’s promises. Every time you read one in Scripture or remember one, write it down. Return to this list often and proclaim praise to the God who never fails!

2) The majority of our everyday moments are lived out in the tangible and experienced by our physical senses. Pause for 30 seconds and close your eyes; begin listing out the most recent experiences you’ve encountered with your senses. What were the last images you saw, items you tasted, sounds your heard, sensations you felt, and scents you’ve smelled. Reflect on your list, allowing yourself to relive those moments. Now ask yourself how many of those were connected to relating to God. We tend to relegate our experiences of God to the confines of the church building or spiritual retreats, but the Lord crafted each moment of our everyday to be pregnant with opportunities of knowing Him more fully. Creation testifies of His glory. His mercies are new every morning, waiting to be unwrapped in our days. He is in regular pursuit of our hearts. Ask the Lord to open your eyes and see Him in real, everyday life!

3) Name the things that have changed in your life in the last 24 hours. Maybe it was your plans. Maybe it was the nuances of an interaction you had with a friend. Perhaps you received new information. Unread emails, laundry to fold, meals to plan, change is constantly around us. Now name the things that have never once changed in the course of your entire life. You may be able to name some things that haven’t changed much, or perhaps people you’ve come to rely on fully over time. But, to assign an “always” statement to someone or something’s unchangeability isn’t very accurate. The Lord does not increase His love for us over time, and neither does it decrease. His justice and goodness does not ebb and flow depending on political standing or cultural trends. He is ceaselessly full of all that embodies His character. Never once has He changed. Ever. Which means He is endlessly trustworthy. What was true of Him at the dawn of time will be true of Him in the ages to come. None is more faithful and true than the Lord God. Given this reality, what are you holding back from entrusting to His care? Plans for your future? Relationship struggles? Finances? Fear? Wounds? Sister, there is none more able to love you, and none more worthy of your total surrender than the Lord Jesus Christ. Give it all over to the Unfailing One and worship Him for His faithfulness!

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 John 15:4-5 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.

Prayer Journal
None is steadfast like You, O Lord! Your goodness never ceases, yet how easily I become “bored” with praising You because I forget Your benefits. I neglect to remember the constancy of your nearness and the immediacy of Your accessible Presence. Shift the focus of my heart to see with eyes of faith. Teach me to trust the good love of Your heart that has never abandoned me. Teach me to pause here, to rest in it, and then live it out in worship that speaks of Your glory!

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

Build community, be transparent, and encourage others:
Share how God spoke to you today!
Comment Here or in our Facebook Community Group!

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Eden Day 13 Exiled For Good

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Genesis 2
Genesis 3
Romans 6:16-23
Galatians 3:10-14

Eden, Day 13

“The grasses sang together, the dew’s drops harmonized, and the whir of insect wings melodically magnified the rhythmic sway of undiluted, adoring praise to the Maker.”

Eve’s melodic words flowed quickly as she remembered. “We were blissfully free, although we didn’t understand this exquisite gift of Presence we so innocently enjoyed. Our feet danced to the cadence of the lilting music with every movement. Oh how I loved to talk with the wiggling worms and listen to the trees laugh in the breeze!”

Eve laughed, and the rich hues of deep mirth beckoned to all who heard. “Everything held abundant life, or was upheld by it.”

She shook her head at the still-unfathomable mystery. “Every being was sustained by the Indescribable wonder of the Maker Himself. His beauty was reflected in every pool of shimmering water, every star’s arching song over the curve of the earth, and every baying creature’s unique sound. As the sun-warmed grass welcomed our dancing feet, even our work felt like playful delight as we cared for the earth and the animals. Adam and I…”

Eve sighed longingly as she remembered Great-Grandfather. “How perfectly we fit together, not just bodies and hands, but purpose and . . . ” she stumbled for a word and landed on, “… joy. How wondrous it was to join, with him, creation’s worship of Yahweh.”

Eve never tired of telling the wonder of that delight before…

I wiggled in spite of myself, thinking of what was to come. I’d heard my great-grandmother tell her tale a hundred times, and though I loved it more with every re-telling, the familiar ending always sent my heart plummeting.

Would the Maker cast me out as well?
Did He know the way I pouted behind my mother’s back and how I kicked my little brother?
Could I hide from Yahweh better than Great-Grandmother?

“Tell us about the two trees!” Kenan’s excited voice rose above the murmur of the children encircling Eve’s dusky fire. I elbowed him, preferring to linger on Eden’s perfection. I wanted nothing to do with the two trees and all they meant. Couldn’t Kenan understand how they tarnished him, too?

Still, Great-Grandmother’s voice rang out like crystal waters and I was immersed again as she spoke of the wide clearing of lush green grasses carpeting the warm earth at the base of the two trees. “Life and Death were set before us every day in the Garden, my children. Every day, we had the choice to eat of the Tree of Life and live forever with Yahweh in bliss; Abba never forbade it.” (Genesis 2:8-9, 15-17)

“But you didn’t choose Life! You chose DEATH.” Kenan clamored again; I couldn’t help but kick him in the shin. Why did he press so? He scowled at me, rubbing his bruise, and Eve pretended not to notice.

“You’re right, Kenan,” Eve continued, her free-falling tears belying her lilting smile. “We did choose death. That day, when Adam and I walked through the Garden, I felt a slippery snake sneak up beside me.

“Through his questions, I suddenly saw the two trees differently.
I asked myself, ‘Had Yahweh been holding out on us? Would we experience greater goodness if we disobeyed Him? What if He wasn’t wholly as good as He’d led us to believe?’”
(Genesis 3:1-6)

“But He was wholly good, wasn’t He?” I was surprised to hear my own quiet voice, and to taste salt on my lips from tears matching Great-Grandmother Eve’s. Her gaze caught mine with tenderness, and she nodded, sensing I had suddenly grasped something new and rich.

“Yes. The Maker’s intent was only always, and still is yet, wholly good. Even as Adam and I ate the forbidden fruit and chose rebellion over the supreme goodness of knowing Yahweh and walking with Him, even then He was good.” She leaned forward and wiped my tears with her crooked fingers, and in a whisper that sounded like dew drops, “He Still Is.”

It was then, in the ending I loathed, that sobs shook my small frame.
Not in sorrow, but in worship.
Yahweh’s goodness banished Adam and Eve from the Garden.

What if–lost and condemned in their sin–they had then eaten from the Tree of Life and lived forever, separated from God?! What loathsome punishment! What horror–a literal hell on earth.

Instead, He banished them because He was good. Even tucked inside His curse was hidden Hope, for one day the Serpent Crusher would come to win Victory over his Death. (Genesis 3:15)

No, I was no better than Great-Grandmother Eve.
Again and again, I enacted my slavery to sin and earned death. (Romans 6:16-23)
And yet, even as my life pointed unswervingly to death, Yahweh was wholly good.
He’d given me a body to move in and air to breathe and food to eat and the beauty of the afternoon sun’s slant and the joy of friendship.

Yes, sin’s curse held us captive, but Yahweh held our victory, and our hope.
One day, the Serpent Crusher would walk among us and die for us and rise again, breaking the curse and restoring us to His Presence, now and for eternity.
(Galatians 3:10-14)

“But now, since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification–and the outcome is eternal life!” (Romans 6:22)

 

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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 Eden 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 Eden!

Sacrifice Day 6 The Blood Path

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Genesis 15:1-21
Mark 14:22-24
Romans 4:13-25
Hebrews 6:13-20

Sacrifice, Day 6

As Abram gathered the animals for the sacrifice, he must have done so with trepidation.

This would be no ordinary sacrifice. He was preparing to enter into a covenant, a binding agreement, with the Almighty God. This was a serious matter.

Abram knew he was unworthy. He had always been unworthy. His life had been spent worshipping idols until his encounter with the true, living God changed everything, prompting him to step out in faith and obedience leave his homeland, Ur, to travel to Canaan. (Genesis 12:1-4)

Since then, Abram had seen God’s faithfulness. God had led him to Canaan, blessed him, and promised him an abundance of descendants. His words to Abram had always been full of grace and encouragement, and Abram believed God, despite the seeming impossibility of the promise.

Even so, Abram felt uneasy. He knew he was far from perfect. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked God for reassurance about His promise. (Genesis 15:2-3, 8) As he gathered the cow, the female goat, the ram, the turtledove, and the pigeon God required, he was all too aware of their fate, and he began to ponder his own fate for failing the covenant.
Who was he to make a covenant with God?

Then came the part he was dreading the most, cutting the animals in half. As the blood of the animals was splattered and spilled and he arranged half of each animal to line either side of a small ditch, allowing the blood to pool, Abram reflected on the covenant into which God was directing him to enter. To seal a covenant, both parties would walk the path of blood, symbolising how, if they broke the terms of the covenant, they too could be slaughtered like the animals.

Here was the cause of his fear: Abram doubted his ability to keep the covenant. What would happen to him if his choices failed to honour God? Deep down, he knew that it wasn’t so much a matter of “if” he would fail, but “when.” At some point, it was inevitable.

God, however, was fully aware of Abram’s unworthiness, still He also knew his faith, and it pleased Him. (Hebrews 11:6) He had seen Abram’s faith in action as Abram responded to the call to leave his home and step into the unknown. God knew that despite his imperfection, Abram trusted His promises, and God had a plan. Faith would save where works could not. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

“Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)

God knew that Abram would never be able to keep the terms of the covenant. If it depended on Abram’s goodness and his ability to keep the moral law, it would certainly fail. God knew that the only way to preserve Abram’s family line and this covenant promise was for Him to walk the blood path for both of them.

So, as darkness fell, God put Abram into a deep rest while allowing him to see the vision of what He was about to do on Abram’s behalf. The silence of night surrounded Abram and the ground where blood gathered became sacred as a smoking fire pot and flaming torch passed between the pieces of the animals; God secured His promise by His own faithfulness. Smoke and fire are common symbols of God’s presence in the Bible, e.g. the smoke on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:17-19) and the burning bush where God met with Moses (Exodus 3:1-2). Here, they represent God walking the path of blood. God alone.

How relieved Abram must have been to find that he was not required to walk the path, to discover that the covenant did not depend on his own faithfulness but on God’s, and therefore, it could not fail. (2 Timothy 2:13)

Abram would have a child, and, despite enduring 400 years of slavery, his descendants would return to possess the land. (Joshua 1:1-9)

All of this pointed ahead to a day when an even greater sacrifice would be made; when, in Jesus, God sacrificed Himself. (John 19) As blood dripped from His thorn-crowned head and poured from the nail-wounds piercing His hands and feet, He sealed His promise forever

And He secured the hope for all who trust in Him that we, like Abram’s descendants, would one day be brought home, not simply to Canaan, but to the Promised Land of eternity where God and man would dwell together, free from sin’s entanglement. (Revelation 21:1-4)

For us, as for Abram, the good news is that this does not depend on our goodness, our ability, or our faithfulness. As He walked the blood path of incredible sacrifice, Jesus did all that was necessary.

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!
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Join the GT Community and share your thoughts!

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 Sacrifice Week Two! 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 Sacrifice!

The GT Weekend! ~ Wilderness Week 3

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The GT Weekend!

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

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) At times, I’ve thought Joseph deserved some of the treatment he received. His behavior towards his brothers seemed to ask for pushback. I’m guessing that Joseph’s time in the deep pit and Egyptian prison brought him to his senses and closer to Jehovah. I love seeing the favor God continually showered on Joseph, even in “undeserved” hardships. From the pit to being sold, then falsely accused and locked in prison, still God rescued him and gave him the position of second in command in Egypt. Scripture doesn’t answer all the “why’s” of Joseph’s life, but in every situation, no matter how unjust or difficult, we see God teaching Joseph to emphatically trust Jehovah. How do you handle favor? Promotion? Do you let it go to your head or are you humble, choosing to bless the Lord? How do you handle adversity? Hardships? Do you lash out? Blame others? Or do you humbly choose to bless the Lord? In both scenarios we must constantly be on guard regarding our heart attitude. The Lord guards our steps, the Lord pursues our hearts, the Lord will faithfully grow our faith. Trust Him!

2) I can’t imagine how Naomi must have felt. We all have endured loss of one kind or another, or perhaps many losses, but I don’t personally know anyone who has endured such significant, sequential losses as Naomi. Is it any wonder she became bitter after losing her homeland, both sons, and her husband? When devastation hits it’s easy to allow bitterness to swallow you whole. Grief and sadness can blind us to anything positive. Naomi was so consumed by grief that despite the presence of her daughter-in-law, Ruth, it seemed she wasn’t enough. Bereft of husband, sons, and seemingly even Jehovah, Naomi believed she was alone. In truth, God hadn’t left her. When have you felt completely alone? Perhaps your suffering and losses have crowded out the truths you once claimed about God. Perhaps you, like Naomi, believe the Lord is against you. I’ve been here (more than once), fighting against the urge to surrender to the overwhelming feelings of rejection and bitterness. The felt need to tighten down and push our hurt under the rug is powerful, believing lies in the process. Still, truth calls out. Like Naomi, we can trust God has not forsaken us. We can “hold onto hope”.

3) When life feels easy and sweetly good, it’s easy to trust what we already know to be true, about God’s character. It’s easy to pursue Christ through prayer, worship, and service. What happens when we are hit with the unexpected? Consider your heart-response to everyday side steps like a flat tire, running late, or unmet expectations. Do you shirk the choice to worship, or do you submit the difficulty to the Lord? Consider your past or current challenges that are more significant. In what ways have you found yourself losing focus, forgetting truths about God, and walking away from worship? When we begin to disbelieve the truths we once clung to, it’s easy to allow our spiritual disciplines to slip. We skip prayer, disengage from worship, and pull back from serving others. The temptation is to stop focusing on truth and hone in on the source of our pain, but this distraction is exactly what the enemy wants! We must remember Jesus’ promise to remain present with us, then fight the enemy with tried and true weapons of prayer, worship, and service.

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 Matthew 8:6-10 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

“Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible agony.”
7 He said to him, “Am I to come and heal him?”
8 “Lord,” the centurion replied, “I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under my command. I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
10 Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with so great a faith.

Prayer Journal
Lord, what examples of faith we see in the Scripture that You have preserved! Lord, I confess outright that, while I do believe, how great an increase of faith I desire. Lord, help my unbelief! It seems, Lord, these wilderness seasons in life highlight my disbelief. Teach me to see these as opportunities to learn from You, the gentle, loving Savior.

I am not at all like the leper who runs to You first in order to be healed. (Matthew 8:1-2) I work so hard to fix myself and my own problems before “bothering” You. Lord, I confess my arrogance here!

Neither do I see myself as the faith-filled centurion. (Matthew 8:5-6) Teach me to put what I know to be true into practice in real, everyday life as I pray to you in faith. Help me to declare the truths You’ve taught me in Your word, believe them for myself, and live them out with greater faith.

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

Build community, be transparent, and encourage others:
Share how God spoke to you today!
Comment Here or in our Facebook Community Group!

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Build Day 10 Building Restoration

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Nehemiah 8
Romans 3:21-24
John 1:1-18

Build, Day 10

Before Nehemiah began his quest to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, his friend Ezra was on the scene to bring the Israelite community back together after years of exile in Babylon. (Ezra 7) Ezra gathered exiled Israelites from Babylon, uniting them with those already in Jerusalem to bring spiritual restoration as a community to the nation.

As Nehemiah governs God’s people in Jerusalem and works to rebuild the wall, he finds a partner in the spiritual leader, Ezra. When the wall is finally rebuilt, Ezra and Nehemiah join forces to point their people back to God. (Nehemiah 8) What a refreshing view of spiritual and governing leaders coming together for the benefit of their people and the glory of God!

For seven days, Ezra and other spiritual leaders read the Torah and taught its meaning to the people.

And the people began responding.

After years of being unable to hear God’s word and celebrate their religious holidays, the Israelites began repenting. They listened and followed instructions to build the same festival shelters their forefathers had built; they began celebrating God through feasting together, and they began worshiping the Lord with JOY.

Joy was restored.

Can you imagine, after 70 years of slavery and exile, doing anything but grumbling and throwing yourself a pity party? I don’t know about you, but I’d be attending that pity party, table for one!

But this is the power of God’s Holy Word: to build back up what has been torn down, to transform us and restore us to the beautiful, joyful creation He intended us to be.

It’s easy to read this story on the other side, thousands of years later, and quickly pinpoint where the Israelites made mistakes. Yet, we are in need of the same restoration God graciously offered them in their renewed city, for we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23-24)

Just as the Israelites were exiled from Jerusalem, so in our sin, we were exiled from a relationship with our Creator and Father.

But then God’s Word was made flesh in the form of Jesus, and a whole new era of restoration began. (John 1:1-18) Just as Ezra and Nehemiah made space for the Word of God to be heard, taught, and practiced, Jesus was God’s Word incarnate, dwelling among us, teaching us how to live and turn back to God.

Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus was the way for restoration.

Now, as we live on the other side of restoration, in relationship with God, we wait for the second coming of Jesus and the restoration of the world as we know it.
Don’t we see it around us?
Don’t we see it in ourselves?
We’re living in “the now and the not yet” of restoration.

So, what do we do as we wait for our final restoration?
Where do we find our joy in the meantime?

We remember the dedication of Ezra and Nehemiah and we turn to God’s Word. We seek it, and we allow others to teach us. We learn and practice what it says. We gather together as brothers and sisters in Christ and we celebrate all God has done.

Here, we find joy.
We find daily renewal and restoration.
We find hope when it seems all is lost, and we feel like we’ve endured 70 years of exile.

Will you join me in continuing to dig into God’s word? (Look at you, doing that right now!)
Will you seek understanding?
Will you do what His Word says?
Will you gather your friends and family to delight in God together?
Will you remember to find Joy?

Because you, my friend, have been Restored.

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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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The GT Weekend! ~ Training Week 2

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The GT Weekend!

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

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) I find that being still is difficult. To me, stillness has the appearance of lazy idleness. When I want to be lazy, it’s easy to be still. When I purposely set aside time to be still and seek the Lord in the quiet, my mind naturally races. The enemy of our souls leverages our easily-distracted-from-God sin nature to draw us away from sitting silently in God’s presence. As Kaitlyn reminded us, being still doesn’t mean emptying our minds. Rather, biblical meditation involves resting in God’s presence. I have a few friends who enjoy walking prayer labyrinths. It keeps them moving forward without the distraction of navigating where they are going. A prayer labyrinth provides a simple path without obstacle for feet, so one’s mind and heart can focus more deeply on prayer and Scripture meditation. Practicing stillness in prayer is important because we become so busy talking to and lamenting to God with our litany of requests we fail to shut off the noise and listen instead. How will you practice biblical meditation this weekend? Try finding a local trail to meander and pray. If weather keeps you inside, light a candle and find a dark place where you can sit and focus on the light while repeating truths about God.

2) Our sin-nature, if not consistently surrendered before the Lord Jesus, will rule over us. (Romans 6:12-14) As people who have been forgiven and turned away from our sin, we are called to offer the whole of our lives to God through the power of His Spirit in us. Often overlooked, but absolutely non-negotiable for a life that brings glory to God, is our willingness to live within biblical community. We were handcrafted by the Triune God to live together in humble unity with other brothers and sisters who have also been forgiven and have the Spirit living within them. Do you belong to a local church? Are you committed to seeing her flourish in your city and reach others with the hope and freedom offered in Jesus? Do you serve alongside other Christians in your church? Reflect on your prayer life and evaluate how frequently you commit dedicated time to interceding for other believers. Take time this weekend to connect with a believing friend and plan time to share coffee or a meal together, then spend the time sharing how God is teaching you and shaping your heart. This rich encouragement of sharing authentic life together is how we build community within Christ’s Body, His Church.

3) I found Sarah’s Journey Study to be a bit quite convicting as the Holy Spirit shone His truth on my heart from Scripture! Consistent Bible-reading and study can seem daunting, but we must remember that the enemy would like nothing better than to derail us in our relationship with Christ by shifting our focus from His Truth. Scripture study is absolutely essential for our spiritual wellbeing. Proverbs 4:20-22 instructs us to heed God’s Word with focused intentionality and purpose. Paul exhorts us to train our minds to meditate on whatsoever is true, honorable, just, and the like! (Philippians 4:8-9) Take up Paul’s challenge this weekend and use his list of wholly good things as the focus point for your thought life. This requires disciplined training! Look up those two verses in Philippians and ponder their meaning for your everyday life. Sometimes, I find myself quick to keep Scripture foremost in my mind, while in other seasons, my lack of disciplined training exposes my eager distraction to focus on what isn’t good, pure or truthful. These seasons consistently produce worry and anxiety. How I respond to life circumstances is directly related to my willingness to practice the discipline of feasting on Scripture!

Praying Scripture back to the One who wrote it in the first place is a great way to jump start our prayer-life! Pray this passage from 2 Timothy 3:14-17 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Prayer Journal
Lord, forgive me, create in me a clean heart. (Psalm 51:10) I have become distracted with all the busy of life and closed off my time from You. You desire a deep relationship with me, but I’ve neglected time spent with You by reading and studying Your Word. I confess the times I have only studied your Word when I’ve prepared to teach or write instead of as my guide in all of life. I have neglected to come before You with nothing on my agenda except to listen to You. I know You hold the richest of all joys, stir up in me the desire to be fully present with You in worship and prayer. I know from experience there is nothing as sweetly tender and full of awe as basking in Your presence as Joshua did in the Tent of Meeting. (Exodus 33:11) Teach me to silence my “runaway train” thoughts, my worries, constant to-do list, so I will clearly hear Your still small voice. (1 Kings 19:11-12)

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

Build community, be transparent, and encourage others:
Share how God spoke to you today!
Comment Here or in our Facebook Community Group!

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

The GT Weekend! ~ Worship IX Week 2

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The GT Weekend!

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

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) James 1:22 tells us to “be doers of the word and not hearers only”. One topic the Word covers is worship that is acceptable to God. He told the Israelites from the beginning to worship Him alone. They did, but it was often not acceptable. God requires us to worship Him, not by checking a box on a worship “to-do” list, but by knowing and living His truth and confessing when we dishonor Him with sin. But how do we find this truth? We can know His truth by renewing our mind, as we are instructed in Romans 12:2. Evaluate your own worship this weekend. In what areas do you see yourself leaning towards “checking boxes”?  What distractions can you eliminate so you can better connect with God?  Are you allowing God to transform you through His Word and your relationship with Him? Write a prayer to God asking Him to help you identify areas you are more rooted in ritual than truth. Check out 1 Samuel 2:30 for encouragement about honoring God and the reward He gives!

2) Jesus kicked everyone out of the temple and overturned the money changers’ tables. This shows us how seriously He takes the command from Exodus 20:4-6 to not make or worship other gods. When we place more importance on anything other than God, our worship is misplaced. God wants to be the sole focus of our worship and rightfully so. Nothing and no one can match God’s greatness. Yet people have idols, even today. Let’s decide together to not allow anything to take first place in our life except God. Consider plotting out the ways you spend time this week, asking the Lord to open your eyes to time you could repurpose for intentional worship. When we focus on who God is and why He deserves our worship, everything else falls into a right perspective. Choose some passages from Exodus this weekend and read of God’s faithfulness to Israel. How has that same patience, mercy, grace, lovingkindness, and power shown up in your life? Record some instances to help you place your focus and worship squarely on the One who deserves it.

3) In Friday’s Journey Study, we learned how the Old Testament fellowship offering was for communion with God, and the burnt offering was for forgiveness of sins. Yet, neither of these sacrifices could truly fix Israel’s sin problem. The ultimate sacrifice, with the power to conquer sin once and for all, was Jesus, which is why we should worship Him with our whole lives. King David was good at worshipping whole-heartedly as he had made worship the practice of his life. We read his songs of worship throughout the book of Psalms and in his Psalm of Thanksgiving in 1 Chronicles 16. The way he continually worshipped God provides us with a beautiful model for how we should worship. When was the last time you worshipped with everything within you? Did you share your experience with anyone or encourage them to lean into worship? Jesus has given us an incredible gift that deserves our full worship, but let’s not keep it to ourselves. Encourage your family and friends to adopt a lifestyle of praise along with 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 1 Chronicles 16:28-31 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

Ascribe to the Lord, families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; bring an offering and come before him.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; let the whole earth tremble before him.
The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice,
and let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”

Prayer Journal
Lord, there are many places we can direct our worship. Sadly, it’s not always to You. I acknowledge there is no one like You. You are worthy of every bit of my praise. I want my life to reflect love and gratitude for Who you are and all You do for me. Spirit, remind to meditate on Your character because I know that when I do, You remind me I owe everything to You. They remind me of the great sacrifice Jesus made to reconcile me to You. May I never again give Your importance to another. Instead, let me proclaim Your glory with my life. May it spill into others’ lives, so they may also be drawn into worshipping and honoring You. Let me bask in Your glory, Lord, and declare it with my life so everyone knows You are the One True God, worthy of all our praise.

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

Build community, be transparent, and encourage others:
Share how God spoke to you today!
Comment Here or in our Facebook Community Group!

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music