Category: Bible study

The Lord Is Near

The Lord Is Near

Carolyn

What do you do when you can’t sleep? Sometimes I simply wait it out, eventually falling back to sleep. While I suppose that keeps me in a restful state waiting on sleep to return, I also later feel those were wasted hours! Sometimes then, I’ll get up to read or pray, in hopes it will make me sleepy, so at least I can feel like I was being productive!

Last Saturday night, when I couldn’t sleep, I got up to pray. Three verses came to mind:

“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).

“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:5-7).

“Come near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4:8a).

I don’t remember how I arrived at thinking about those verses and the nearness of the Lord. I think I was praying for friends who had lost a loved one, grieving with them, praying for the nearness of God to their broken hearts. My mind probably then took off on the theme of God’s nearness and where else we find that word in Scripture, those being familiar passages to me.

When I got up later that Sunday morning, I started reading “Preparing for the Lord’s Day,” a weekly post our church puts out to prepare us for worship. In it, it said, “To prepare for worship, spend time reading and meditating on… Psalm 34:15–22, Philippians 4:4–7…, and James 5:13–18.”

Two of those passages contained the verses I had pondered in the night, and the third one was one chapter later, but only a page away in my Bible. The sermon focus was not on the nearness of God, but on how God calls every Christian to pray. But it was interesting to see those three Scriptures again being reinforced.

Yesterday, I was looking up a devotional book at Amazon, glancing quickly at the sample pages. The sample devotional started with, “The Lord is near….” quoting after it those verses from Philippians 4:5-7. This sample devotional page from the book was in the context of anxiety: “if the Lord is near, everything changes. You aren’t alone, and the one who is in control, to order and provide, he’s near and he cares for you and he is involved.” (David Powlison).

Today, I opened my photos to go back and find a photo with a friend from a visit I remembered in 2018, and beside those photos was this random one I had saved 7 years ago, not even remembering it, nor now knowing its source:

What do we make of times where the Lord keeps bringing a repeated message? I’m not sure, but one thing, if nothing else, is simply encouragement. We can be encouraged with the message that comes to us through God’s Word and in prayer. We may or may not see an exact application, but we can remember it and hold on to it.

Who couldn’t be encouraged with the thought that, in all of our circumstances, the Lord is near. He sees you, He knows you, He knows what you are going through, He knows your joys and your sorrows, and He is near. Not distant, but right there with you, drawing near to you when you draw near to Him. The Lord is near; we have no reason to fear!

That’s a message I can go with today! Perhaps it will encourage you too.

“But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”
Psalm 73:28

All the Days of My Life

Carolyn

Psalm 23 is a passage the Lord keeps bringing me to in this season of life. It’s everywhere. Its truth and beauty have taken on new depth and meaning.

After journaling to capture all the places it was showing up, I went to church, and a soloist sang a beautiful hymn “Shepherd Me, O God” (based on Psalm 23).

It was announced Chuck Swindoll is retiring. I’ll never forget his exposition on Psalm 23 at our senior retreat at Dallas Theological Seminary. What a generous man to invest in us during no doubt a busy time as president of the seminary and having a much broader ministry beyond.

Dallas Seminary Graduation Luncheon 1997 with Chuck and Cynthia Swindoll

There are numerous songs on the radio right now about Psalm 23. I was listening to Leanna Crawford’s Psalm 23, marveling at its timing. As I started an order in the Chick-fil-A curbside parking, I was singing the next song on the radio without even realizing what I was saying. But then I heard what I was singing:

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want; He makes me lie down in green pastures. The Lord is my Shepherd, leads me to still waters, and He restores my soul.”

This is the bridge in “Come What May,” a song not primarily about Psalm 23.

You get the idea… it’s been everywhere. It’s an encouragement to pay attention to what the Lord is speaking through His Word as we study the Bible and live our daily lives.

During this time, I woke up one morning with these words being repeated in my mind over and over: “all the days of my life, all the days of my life, all the days of my life.” Over and over. What is that? Well, it should have been obvious to me, but it took me a minute to remember it’s from Psalm 23:6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” Okay, so?

Well, I went to do my daily Bible study. I’m doing Bible Study Fellowship International online this year, which has been another amazing blessing meeting women from all over the world! We are studying Revelation. In this lesson about the letter to the church at Ephesus (Rev. 2:1-7), the questions took us back to Genesis 3 to read alongside Rev. 2:7 about the Tree of Life.

As I read about the curse of the serpent and the curse of the ground (note: Adam and Eve were not cursed, though there were consequences to their sin), the LORD God told the serpent “you shall eat dust all the days of your life” (Gen. 3:14). And the LORD told Adam…, “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life…. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Gen. 3:17-19).

Contrast that to Psalm 23: “Surely goodness and lovingkindness shall follow me all the days of my life.” Look how God reverses these curses for His people. Rather than being in the dust, “He makes us lie down in green pastures”! “He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” What the enemy strives to take, God restores. Picture God’s goodness and lovingkindness following us, closely behind, even chasing us down as our Good Shepherd all the days of our lives!

Once you hear the themes of Psalm 23, you’ll see it everywhere.

My husband and I went to a wedding last weekend where they sang The Goodness of God: “All my life you have been faithful, all my life you have been so, so good… your goodness is running after me.” I could hear the echoes of Psalm 23 as the breeze blew through the beautiful arboretum setting. The pastor came up after the song and also pointed out it included Psalm 23.

Remember John 10:10-11, the passage where Jesus tells us He is the Good Shepherd. There’s the contrast: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd…”

Do you see where Satan tries to destroy and kill, God instead gives life and abundance! He leads us out, He follows us behind. In fact, Galatians 3:13 tells us, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’)” He is the good Shepherd, but He is also the Lamb slain in our place for our sins to give us salvation! What an amazing reversal! What a grand exchange!

Not a day goes by without our Shepherd’s care and presence, His leading and following us, the sheep in need of our saving Shepherd. May His goodness and lovingkindness follow us all the days of our lives, that we may dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Are You Full?

Are You Full?

Carolyn

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth… For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”

John 1:14, 16

An Introduction and Invitation

This year in Bible Study Fellowship, we’ve been studying the Gospel of John. It was written so that we might “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).

John introduces us to Jesus as He truly is. Jesus has now entered the world, God in human flesh, and shows us who He is and what He can do. Among other things, Jesus gives us 7 “I am” statements (who He is) and 7 signs (what He can do).

I’ve been fascinated by the powerful presentation of who Jesus is. John moves from a stunningly beautiful prologue and introduction of Jesus in John 1:1-18, to John the Baptist introducing and baptizing Jesus, then Jesus calling His disciples, the wedding at Cana, the cleansing of the temple, a conversation with Nicodemus about being born again, the encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus healing people, feeding the 5000, walking on water, and more—all before we get to His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, Judas’ betrayal, the Upper Room Discourse with His disciples, and His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus lovingly prepares His disciples for His departure and describes for them how He will provide for them still; they will not be left alone. Every step with Jesus shows us more of who He is, His heart for the world and for us, His power to heal and to save, His humility, servanthood, and sacrifice for us, and His ongoing power and presence through His Spirit.

There are so many ideas presented to us today about who Jesus is, but in reading John, as we see more of Jesus as He really is, the ideas we have about Him are clarified or corrected. He lovingly and graciously invites us to believe and to have life to the full (John 10:10).

Filled with His Fullness

After studying John’s prologue, I wondered about what it meant that Jesus was “full of grace and truth” and that “from his fullness, we have all received grace upon grace.” Prior to this, the law had been given to them through Moses, now grace and truth through Christ. Something better than the law had come; in fact, the fulfillment of the law was here (Matthew 5:17). Interestingly, that word “fulfill” (plēroō in Greek) means to bring to “fullness” (plērōma), to make “full” (plērēs), these words all sharing a Greek root.

As I prayed about what that meant that Jesus was full of grace and truth and that from His fullness, we have all received, grace upon grace, various Scriptures came to mind.

  • In Ephesians 3, the apostle Paul prays that the saints in Ephesus would “know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (3:19).
  • Paul encourages us to “be filled with the Spirit” in Ephesians 5:18.
  • Paul prays in Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” This suggests a fullness to overflowing, so that as we are filled up, we might overflow. (See 2 Cor. 9:8.)
  • In the Beatitudes, Jesus tells us, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6).
  • I think back to John 2 when Jesus had the servants fill to the brim (to the point of fullness) six stone water jars, used for Jewish rites of purification, with water that He turned into wine. Empty vessels, filled up, by the true Vine, who causes us to bear fruit as we abide in Him (John 15).
  • David writes in Psalm 16:11, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

I sense that this is only the beginning of my understanding of this word and concept, but I’d like to keep learning more, so “full” is my word for the year. (I’ve written before about why I choose a word for the year here, though I know and understand not everyone likes to do that!) Yes, it’s taken me almost 2 months of the year to sit down and try to describe this word for the year. But I keep finding a richer depth to who Jesus is and what He offers us.

Life to the Full

It seems we have a God who is able to fill us up with His love, His grace, His truth, His fullness, His Spirit, His joy, His peace, and does so to overflowing, that we might spill over into bearing fruit and being a benefit to the world He made and loves.

Are you full in Christ? Are you experiencing the full and abundant life He came to give? Do you want to? Ask Him today to, through Jesus, fill you up to all the fullness of God, to give you this full and abundant life, as you put your faith and trust in Him.

“… I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

John 10:10
Summer Wrap-up and Fall Launch

Summer Wrap-up and Fall Launch

Carolyn

September may be my favorite month. The heat of summer begins to give way to the cooler weather of fall. Everything launches again, whether schools and academic schedules or various activities and groups. A more typical routine resumes. It almost feels like the start of a new year when we make our resolutions as we set our fall schedule, our new goals and ways to grow. I can feel life regulating again, moving away from some of the free and unformed days of summer to days that are more planned and possibly even more productive.

Read more →
Remember the Garden

Remember the Garden

Carolyn

A few years ago, I listened to a podcast describing Jesus and His emotions in the Garden of Gethsemane. As I listened, I found myself teary thinking of Jesus as He faced the cross (Luke 22:39-46). Imagine His anguish (He was fully human after all) that literally caused him to sweat blood — and yet His willingness to stay and do the will of His Father. As God, He knew what was to happen. His suffering brought salvation for whoever believes in Him. It was costly for Him to die in our place, and it demonstrated His great love (Romans 5:8)!

The next morning, as I was getting coffee, still reflecting on this, these words went through my mind: “You have not resisted to the point of shedding blood.” I looked up that phrase and found it:

“In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (ESV).

Hebrews 12:4

Hebrews 12:4 would most certainly seem to be referring to the martyrs, to those who have suffered persecution for their faith. It follows Hebrews 11, that great hall of faith that concludes with martyrs who did shed their blood. And because Hebrews 12:1-3 (immediately before verse 4) urges us to fix our eyes on Jesus, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, it no doubt also points to Jesus’ death on the cross where he suffered, bled, and died.

But I think we can also gain encouragement by remembering Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-46).

There in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was resisting the great forces of evil, as he had done when tempted earlier by the devil in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), both times during which an angel or angels ministered to Him. In His obedience, in doing His Father’s will, in withstanding temptation, not only did He save us, but He gave us an example to follow. If He could endure, we can endure, and His Word assures us He gives us the strength to do so (1 Corinthians 10:13).

This section of Scripture (Luke 22:39-46, Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane) is bookended with Jesus telling His disciples to go and pray that they would not enter into temptation. As He faced the cross, He didn’t ask them to pray for Himself, but twice told them to pray that they would not enter into temptation. Prayer is that necessary to defeating temptation. They instead fell asleep.

(As an aside, it’s made me wonder what might have happened if Peter had prayed that he wouldn’t enter into temptation–would he still have denied Jesus three times? Of course, this was part of a larger, sovereign plan. But what would happen if we pray, as Jesus told us in the Lord’s prayer, that we might not enter into temptation but be delivered from evil. Are we sleeping more than praying?)

In between these commands to the disciples to pray that they would not enter temptation, Jesus Himself prays the anguishing prayer that His Father might remove this cup from Him, but says, “Not my will, but yours, be done.” “Being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44).

Returning to Hebrews 12:4, Barnes, in his “Notes on the Bible,” writes:

[T]he fact to which the apostle alludes, it seems to me, is the struggling of the Saviour in the garden of Gethsemane, when his conflict was so severe that, great drops of blood fell down to the ground . . . It is, indeed, commonly understood to mean that they had not yet been called to shed their blood as martyrs in the cause of religion; see Stuart Bloomfield, Doddridge, Clarke, Whitby, Kuinoel, etc. Indeed, I find in none of the commentators what seems to me to be the true sense of this passage, and what gives an exquisite beauty to it, the allusion to the sufferings of the Saviour in the garden. 

Barnes goes on to give three reasons why he has this view, which you can read here by scrolling way down to the Hebrews 12:4 commentary and seeing his 3-part list. It is quite moving.

The question that strikes me as I read and studied this: In our struggling against sin, have we resisted to the point of shedding our blood? The answer most certainly and always will be no, we haven’t. (In fact, sometimes, I wonder if I put up much resistance at all!) If not, we must keep praying! This is so central to the victory He wants to give us! And we can then, in His power, keep enduring as He did, we can follow His example, we can receive His strength to resist. The Bible also tells us that endurance builds character and character, hope (Romans 5:3-5). It also gives us a promise that those who endure will reign with Him (2 Timothy 2:12).

So Remember the Garden of Gethsemane. It tells us of Jesus’ love and faithfulness, His determination to do the Father’s will, no matter the cost.

Remember the Garden. It reminds us He entered into humanity for us. Nothing we experience should tell us He’s disinterested or unloving. He died to rescue us. He loves us.

Remember the Garden. Pray that we would not enter into temptation.

Remember the Garden. If He could endure, there’s nothing we face (sin, temptation, etc.) that He can’t enable us to endure and resist, too.

Remember the Garden. Thank Him for making a way for us to be saved and to be victorious over sin and temptation in Jesus’ name.

*Garden of Gethsemane Photo by Stacey Franco on Unsplash