I shared some reflections a few weeks ago. Although I've been a Bible learner and disciple of Christ for many years, I do not yet have this walk figured out. It's filled with missteps and mistakes, and even when I re-read some of my prior posts, I can see how I could have represented the truth more fully and adequately. It is humbling to know that God still brings truth even in our tiny bit of understanding.
Today, we start a Bible study I've refused to write for months. It is a chapter out of my dark soul and a testament to the bright communion God showed me over a long, swarthy night. I know I need to sit still and get some of the messy, messy work God has graciously done down on paper. I dread it and welcome it all in one.
Using Hosea 6, we looked at how to study your Bible with God, and I provided an inside look of how I work through Scripture verse-by-verse. Of course, there are many different ways to study God's Word, and you need to develop a well-balanced approach with God. This week, I'll introduce more insights around a tool I use…
So often, we hear that the Old Testament contains too much war and destruction. Friends, that is not God's heart; His grace and mercy are never-ending (Lamentations 3:22-23). However, when people are repeatedly rebellious and do not desire to turn from wickedness, He will give them over to their sin for a season. Sadly, it typically takes an affliction for us to turn to God. It's not His desire to punish, but when our hearts are repeatedly stumbling and not turning toward repentance, how else can He awaken His child?
This week, we enter a new chapter, and it takes a twist. The sadness of this week's chapter is that God wanted to forgive His people, but they weren't ready. They didn't even want to admit they had sinned. Rough. So God conducted a trial to show them the sin. Not because He wanted them to live condemned, but because He desired for them to experience His redemption and confession is part of that redemption process.
I'm not into New Year's resolutions. Mainly because they set our human flesh up for disappointment and failure, and I've pretty much got that covered for life. However, these last several years, I've had a word. Not a goal, not a declaration, but a single word the Lord engrained into my spirit. My word for 2020 is…
You may not feel holy in this moment—just like Gomer probably didn't feel holy as she was purchased back by Hosea—but the holiness comes in the place where you dwell. As you dwell with Him day in and day out, that life of freedom becomes a story He scripts for you. Let’s learn more today through Hosea 3.
In our home, we use the Christmas season as an opportunity to keep ourselves intentionally fettered to the Messiah, despite the mayhem. We use Advent as an opportunity to focus our hearts on CHRISTmas, and this season we’re studying the names (characteristics) of Jesus. Each week, I’ll send 7 characteristics and the corresponding Scripture.
Before we jump into the next book, I think we need to breathe. Often I can knock something off my list and then rush onto the next without even pausing. I’m working on this. By nature, I’m fast-paced, ambitious, and love significant challenges. I’m learning to sit. I’m learning to be still. And, I’m inviting you to do the same.
When we strip away our titles—whether that’s wife, mama, teacher, leader, butcher, baker, or candlestick maker…we each need a deep and intimate belonging relationship with our Lord and Savior. It doesn’t matter who you dance alongside in this world, you’re dancing with someone who is either eternally connected to you through Jesus or not. As grey as we want to make life, Jesus makes it simple with His words in Matthew 12:30: "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
We have two chapters left in the Gospel of John, and then we’re moving onward and upward. I would like to hear from you about what you’d like to study next, so I’ve included a few options based on what folks have said on Instagram and Facebook. Once that’s done, we’ll head into John 20, which is about running and the resurrection.
I’m experimenting a bit this week and instead of typing out the Scripture, I’ve taken screen shots from my ESV Study Bible (by permission) and highlighted words that came alive to me as I read them. I would encourage you to get your Bible out, too. There’s something about the tangibleness of paper and the texture of the pages that offer us an unexpected perspective.
