Read His Words Before Ours! Psalm 27 Psalm 23:4-6 John 14:27 The first time I heard of Joey was last summer. My life was upside down and my heart was inside out and I was falling more and more in love with my newborn daughters. One day I found myself surfing Facebook as a distraction from the constant nagging of fear in the back of my mind. My life had turned from joyful mommy-hood bliss to a life of “what ifs” and dread. I clicked on a video of a couple singing on a small, quaint stage. A beautiful brunette woman stood at a mic next to her overall-cladded husband who was playing guitar. Their voices blended into a rich, smooth velvety sound. For just a few minutes my mind didn’t think about the “what ifs” and nothing nagged my heavy heart. I was in a trance and quickly fell in love with this darling couple. For months I continued to watch and listen to this dynamic duo while battling my overwhelming fear that came with being a mommy. One morning, Joey’s tragic news appeared on my Facebook feed: her cancer had returned and the prognosis wasn’t good. I instantly thought of a picture her husband, Rory, had shared on their Facebook page. Joey was potty training their little daughter on the side of the road. She sat with an umbrella reading a book to her sweet girl. That was a picture of motherhood; that was a picture of love. Tears began pouring as I felt the confusion, hurt, pain, and sorrow Joey must have been feeling. You see, Rory was facing one of my worst fears, that something would happen to me so my daughters would have to grow up without their mommy and I wouldn’t get to be there for them. It was easy for my heart to ache with Joey. I learned something in my few months of being a mama about the beautiful bond that lies between a mama and her child. To read that baby Indiana could lose her mama tore me apart. Months passed before I read the words I’d been dreading to read… “My wife’s greatest dream came true today. She is in Heaven. The cancer is gone, the pain has ceased and all her tears are dry. Joey is in the arms of her beloved brother Justin and using her pretty voice to sing for her Savior. ” My heart dropped. My stomach was in my throat. I read Rory’s blog post. I read old blog posts. I read and read while tears poured and it dawned on me. Joey had no fear. Joey was going to die, but Joey was safe. She knew she would be safe, and she proved it to the millions who watched her as cancer overtook her earthly body. She proved it to her thousands of prayer warriors when she said, “I pray that one morning I just don’t wake up. But I don’t fear anything because I’m so close to God and we’ve talked about it so many times. I know he’s close. And I know he loves me.” Joey had no fear because she knew she was safe in the arms of Jesus. She was safe when she battled cancer and she is safe now. Because being safe isn’t about perfect bodily state, it’s about your spiritual one. Knowing she was safe, Joey could bravely allow her little daughter’s relationship with her father to grow, while she sat back and watched, so that sweet girl wouldn’t miss her mama so painfully. Because her heart was safe, Joey could trust that God held her baby when she no longer would. Spiritual safety allowed the decision that “enough is enough” and freed her to stop fighting and prepare herself to go home. Safety with Jesus gave Joey strength to gather her family and friends around her, hold her step-daughters’ hands and snuggle her little baby to say goodbye, and remind them that they are loved. Joey Feek’s brave example of trust pointed straight to the safety of Jesus, and she taught me to handle my own fears for safety a little differently. I learned that when our hearts are safe in Jesus’ love, there is no room for fear, for fear cannot come from Him. “Perfect Love Casts Out Fear” – I John 4:18 This Bible Study first appeared on GracefullyTruthful.com and is property of Gracefully Truthful. Check out the website for more studies like this one!
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Read His Words Before Ours! Esther 2:1-18 Esther 4 Psalm 91 “…For such a time as this…” These are the words that have echoed through my life in every twist and every turn. These are the words that have stood true. “For who knows that you have been brought to Parowan high school, for such a time as this?” “For who knows that you have endured heartache, for such a time as this?” “For who knows that you are attending Samford University, for such a time as this?” “For who knows that you have been called to Kenya, for such a time as this?” “For who knows that you became a wife and a mama, for such a time as this?” I have found comfort in these words, attained peace, and been reminded of my purpose to serve my King with these words. Esther, a Jewish orphan raised by her Uncle Mordecai, is described as beautiful in figure and lovely to look at. She easily won favor with those she met. And ultimately she saved an entire… Well, we will get there in a minute. Esther lived in Susa, ruled by King Ahasuerus, whose reign extended from modern day India to Ethiopia. He was a mighty king, but also full of himself, who could beckon for anything and it would magically appear. Except one night. Drunkenly, the king summoned for his queen in the middle of a celebration that he was hosting for all of Susa. She refused to be paraded in front of more drunk men as his objectified trophy. In his anger, and after some interesting council, he tore away her crown and decided it was time to find a new queen. (Told you he was self-focused!) Women from all over his province were gathered, including our beautiful Esther. These woman would spend six months in an intense “beautification process” in preparation for one night with the king. One night to win his heart and, if successful, would also win the crown. Eventually, much to her own dismay, Esther was found to be the most lovely, the most beautiful, and the King chose her to be Queen. And this is where the story gets good. Enter the wicked adversary, Haman, who loathed Jews, but had the full trust of our puppet King. So when Haman proposed that there be a mass execution of the Jews, King Ahasuerus willingly agreed, not knowing that his own wife was a Jew. Uncle Mordecai urged Esther, who faced near certain death to approach the king without being summoned, “If you stay silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come for the Jews from another place, but you will perish. For who knows that you were made queen for such a time as this?” Esther, her dark eyes downcast as she let the words fall over her soul, looked the servant in the eye and told him to deliver these words to her uncle: “Gather all of the Jews in Susa and fast for me, while I fast here with my servants. And on the third day, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” Gripped with fear, but held by the Lord’s hands. Esther held on to a safety that wasn’t determined by status, or a death sentence, but by the Living God. That moment of decision washed up on Esther and she felt neither prepared nor pleased with the process, but her faithful God sustained her heart to choose Him, even if death reigned. She didn’t know the outcome, but she knew her God. “If I perish, I perish”, are words that point to a power greater than herself and she was determined to honor him, whether in life or death….“for such a time as this”. In the end, Esther told the King of Haman’s wicked plans, having been granted life instead of death in the King’s throne room. Haman was killed and the Jews were given permission to protect themselves if anyone tried to hurt them. An entire nation was saved by Esther’s brave faith to trust the Lord’s safety instead of her own. May we all be women who are daily reminded that we are exactly where we are “for such a time as this.” “For who knows that you have been…. called to this city given this job have this income are enduring this illness a mother to these children walking this lonely trial ….for such a time as this Who knows the powerful things we will accomplish, the people we’ll be able to influence, the nations we’ll be able to save when we trust the Lord to keep us safe, offering Him our “For such a time as this”. This Bible Study first appeared on GracefullyTruthful.com and is property of Gracefully Truthful. Check out the website for more studies like this one!
Read His Words Before Ours! Exodus 1:8-22 Exodus 2:1-10 Hebrews 11:23 Psalm 139:11-16 “I love you, my sweet one. Everything will be alright.” The words slipped from my mouth just loud enough for my newborn daughter to hear. Although my daughter was 29 hours old, this was the first time I was getting to hold her. I pressed her little body tightly against mine and told her that she was extravagantly loved, she was wanted, the Lord has a plan for her life, despite my fears as she was being sent away to a new NICU at a different hospital. “Oh Lord, be with my baby. Wrap your tender arms around her and hold her while I can’t. Keep her safe and healthy and whole. Let her feel you with her.” My prayer could easily echo that of a woman named Jochebed. Jochebed, an Israelite slave in Egypt, battled an inward struggle of utter joy and complete dread, for if this baby was a boy, he would be destined for death. Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, had forgotten that many years ago, an Israelite had actually ruled as second in command in Egypt. But Pharaoh’s arrogance took over logic as he feared the Israelites would overrule him. First, he made them his slaves. Then, he killed their newborn sons. It was with this backdrop of death, one final push, and a deep moan, that Jochebed’s baby was born. The midwife held him up for Jochebed to see, and like waves crashing a boat in a storm, love and fear crashed against her heart as she realized her new son’s fate. With motherly determination, Jochebed made a decision that could cost her own life: she was going to hide her son. I can imagine how she spent nights nursing him without stopping to minimize his crying, holding him constantly, singing to him often. Nothing was going to happen to her boy. For three months Jochebed was able to hide him. When she wasn’t praying or cooking or cleaning, she was scheming. She knew that he couldn’t go much longer in hiding and she came up with a plan. Swiftly she began to tightly weave a waterproof basket. I can almost see her cradling her little three-month-old son in her arms, nuzzling his face to her own, and whispering: “Oh Lord, be with my baby. Wrap your tender arms around him and hold him while I can’t. Keep him safe and healthy and whole. Let him feel you with him.” With that, she placed him in a basket in the Nile River and told her young daughter, Miriam, to follow the basket. Pharaoh’s daughter opened the basket as it floated past her and instantly, she was captivated by love. Miriam jumped out from her hiding place and asked if a wet-nurse was needed to feed this baby, and when the Princess nodded her head, Jochebed’s daughter ran to get her own mama, who was then commanded to nurse and care for this baby boy until he was older. The precious love of a Father! To give a boy his mama back, to protect a life, to guard a woman’s heart! ….but saving Moses was So. Much. More. God didn’t want to just save a baby. He wanted to save a nation. He wanted a people called out to be His own. There were countless other Hebrew boys drowned at the Pharaoh’s hand. Thousands of women who prayed for their sons’ lives only to scream with horror at the intrusion of soldier’s feet into their home. These women’s distress reminds me of the very harsh reality that not every one who prays with faith, will see salvation in the way they imagine. But Moses… Moses and Jochebed remind me that faithful obedience will always, always, always result in God’s Faithful Redemption! Moses was saved to save his people from slavery. So that one day, every Hebrew woman would give birth without fear. Every child would grow up free. Every soul would have access to the Father who loved to redeem them. One incredible day, another Hebrew boy would be born and another death threat would chase down his life. But he would surrender to it. Willfully. So that everyone born into His name would live without fear. Every child, washed in His blood, would know true freedom. And every soul would have access to the Father who loved to redeem. Jochebed’s faith. God’s graciousness. Moses’ obedience. A nation’s freedom. Mary’s faith. God’s graciousness. Jesus’ obedience. Our freedom. The life of Jochebed is easily overlooked and her name sounds foreign on our lips. But she was a woman of mighty valor! Jochebed’s trust in the Lord for her own safety, and the safety of her precious child, pointed straight to the safety we can all have in Christ alone, despite the circumstances that surround us, no matter how dark! This Bible Study first appeared on GracefullyTruthful.com and is property of Gracefully Truthful. Check out the website for more studies like this one!
Click & Read! John 8:1-11 Leviticus 20:10 Deuteronomy 22:22 John 3:17 She walked up to me in a crowded, dim auditorium; her wrinkled hands clutched a small book in front of her while her long white hair cascaded down her shoulders. This woman, dignified and well respected in our small town, had known me since I was a small child and had just watched me receive my final awards of high school. She made eye contact with me as her steps hastened. “Kendra, the Lord told me to give this to you.” Her hands gently placed a small magazine in mine. I didn’t look at the magazine until I got home. I read “Upper Room” and my gaze lowered to a picture. My eyes burned with hot fresh tears. I immediately knew which story this picture came from, and I knew why God told her to give me this magazine. Because that woman on the cover was me. For the first time in a long time, I opened my Bible to read about the woman caught in adultery. Here was Jesus, sitting on a dusty road in a busy town, while a crowd gathered around to listen to him teach. A group of scribes and Pharisees of all ages, came pushing their way through the crowd with a woman; a woman caught in the very act of adultery. I can imagine a scribe holding her arm tightly, carelessly dragging her along to Jesus, anxious to catch Christ in a trap he was certain was fail-proof. Perhaps Jesus saw them coming and chose unceremoniously at that moment to sit, with humility, in the very dust of mankind. He clearly wasn’t looking for a fight. “The Law of Moses commanded us to stone such a woman!” The angry scribe breathed with haughty victorious anger. And then for the scribe’s punch-line, “What do you say?” Jesus, without saying a word, bent his head and began to write in the dirt. But they pressed harder. Intent on justice. So Jesus stood and declared that if any of them gathered there were without sin, they should throw the first stone. Silence. Here was justice. One by one the scribes and the Pharisees left while Jesus crouched back down and continued to write in the dirt. As each man walked away, a piece of this woman’s fear went with him. The crowd of onlookers held their breath as they waited anxiously to see what Jesus would do next. It was just him with the woman now, the only person in the entire world who could have actually thrown a stone at her, and He gently asked, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” Her voice just loud enough for Jesus to hear, “No one, Lord.” And he looked at her, with so much love and compassion, because that is who he is, and he said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on, sin no more.” The tears rolled heavily as I finished reading verse eleven and held the magazine up so I could gaze at the picture of the desperate woman before Jesus. The words of Jesus echoed to my soul, “Neither do I condemn you…” Here I was, a broken and hurt teenager, living in sin and guilt and shame. I was so desperate to feel loved in a way I had never felt love, that I gave my heart to someone who didn’t deserve it and before I knew it, found myself “caught in the very act” of my own sin. I knew this woman from the Bible, because she was me; a woman so desperate for love that she was willing to do anything to gain affection. Even at the cost of finding herself in the absolute depths of despair, perhaps moments from her own death. Like her, I was not looking to the source of Love. I was looking for love in all the wrong places. But when I finally found myself at rock bottom, all I had to do was look up, and He was there. Love was there. The entire time. “Woman, where are they?” And as her eyes lifted to meet Jesus’, she saw Love for the very first time. This Bible Study first appeared on GracefullyTruthful.com and is property of Gracefully Truthful. Check out the website for more studies like this one!
Click & Read! Ruth 1 & 2 Ruth 4:13-22 Deuteronomy 25:5-6 Isaiah 66:2 I have always been a nomad. By the time I was in eighth grade, I’d been in eight different schools in three new states. Even in my short year and a half of marriage, we have lived in two states and have just settled into our third home. Despite all of the good that came from our gypsy ways, I have longed to belong many times over. I know all too well the strong feeling which can only be described as a form of homesickness, that comes when people around us have history with each other and have known one another for a long time. I know that twisted-knot feeling of wanting to stand out, but wanting to blend in all at the same time. The Bible is speckled with people who didn’t belong: Moses, Jonah, Esther, John the Baptist, and even Jesus! But Ruth’s story is so wonderfully spectacular because in the end, not only did she belong, but she belonged to the lineage of King David. Even more incredible… the lineage of Jesus! Ruth’s life was marked with sorrow. Both her brother-in-law and husband passed away, preceded in death by their own father. She was left as a young widow with her sister-in-law, Orpah, and mother-in-law, Naomi. Their spirits were bound together because of the similar shades of grief, and they found solace in one another’s company. Naomi loved Orpah and Ruth as if they were her own daughters, and longed for them to find new love and new joy in their young lives. With a heavy sadness, Ruth and Naomi kissed their sweet Orpah goodbye. However, Ruth could not be persuaded to leave Naomi’s side. Naomi begged her, pleaded with her, and even tried demanding Ruth to leave and look for love. Ruth looked into Naomi’s eyes, and solemnly spoke this vow: “Where you go I will go. Where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God, my God.” This commitment to a life of servanthood and faithfulness was a testament to Ruth’s character and further, the reason the Lord chose to bless her. Naomi and Ruth returned to Naomi’s homeland from a lifetime ago. Already an outcast because of her nationality, Ruth found herself at the lowest rank in society because she was a widow. They had no money, no food, and no way to get a job. That is, until Providence stepped in. Ruth found herself scrounging for the wheat that had fallen while being harvested in a field that belonged to an elite man of the city named Boaz. They encountered each other in something that can only be defined as a Divine Appointment. Boaz’s eyes met Ruth’s as she bowed her head in humility… The rest, as they say, is history. Boaz redeemed Ruth and her family name. He lifted her up from the bottom of society and made her someone who belonged in their city and someone whose name we can find listed hundreds of years before Jesus’. Boaz and Ruth later became the grandparents to a man named Jesse, who had many sons, but called his youngest David. Ruth’s great grandson would go on to slay lions and a giant, rule an entire nation, and be known as a man after God’s own heart. Because of Ruth’s commitment to not only serving Naomi, but serving her God as well, the Lord blessed her! He saw her heart and knew how desperately she yearned for a lasting relationship with her mother-in-law. God saw her trying to blend into a new community. He knew her loneliness. He knew her sorrow. He knew her heart…. and chose to bless her because of her faithfulness. God sent her a redeemer in the form of a kind and prestigious man named Boaz. Through the years I have found myself aching to be accepted by students, friends, other mamas, and ministry partners. So often I forget that I already belong. The Lord has sent me a Redeemer! A kind and prestigious man who lifted me up from my sin and made me someone who belongs to the Kingdom of Heaven and someone whose name you can find written as a follower of Christ. We don’t have to be desperate to belong. Because of Jesus, we already do. This Bible Study first appeared on GracefullyTruthful.com and is property of Gracefully Truthful. Check out the website for more studies like this one!
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Kendra LeeAnneFrom Bible studies to blogs, articles to musings of the heart, Kendra's writings are unbarred and raw - exactly how she speaks. Categories
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