This feels foreign and unfamiliar. What was once the premiere platform of social media, the blog has quickly faded into ancient history. In its stead are Reels and TikToks -- fast clips and bits of information that only require our attention span for seconds. Are we able to condition ourselves to sit and listen, sit and read for longer than that? I suppose we can. I need to try. And so, for me, this platform will open back up. It's been a love, hate .. or an effort that requires more time than I can give. Yet, it is therapeutic, cathartic? Yes, it is.
This school year I decided to try something different. I needed a Bible study. I needed something that would require of me to sit and digest the Word in a way that I can't very well do on my own. Well, I can. But maybe I just lack the discipline. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy reading my Bible, but low on the totem pole is me who journals about any specific thing I might be learning. Discipline. I sense a pattern. This semester we are taking a deeper look at several books of the Bible including Colossians. You may notice a theme of sorts over the next couple of entries. It's quite interesting to me about God uses a Bible study to get my attention about various life circumstances.
Just the other day, Bayley noticed the cover of this study. Pictured is a wolf covered in the wool of a sheep. It took a moment for me to go into the explanation of the phrase "a wolf in sheep's clothing." The thrust of the study is to ground ourselves so mightily in the Truth of God's Word that we can't help but notice the lie.
Why do we believe that wolf so easily? Is the wolf attractive? Does the wolf offer a better way? I found myself in Deuteronomy 1 yesterday morning and today - I wanted to investigate the "sifting" of the Israelites as they entered the Promised Land. (More on sifting to come.) These men and women just walked through walls of water. (Side Note: Moses is recapping the Exodus for the next generation. What I am referring to here is the generation that left Egypt.) They saw God's faithful Hand to get them out from under the reign of the Pharaoh. And yet, they asked Moses to send in spies to the Promised Land. I've missed this before. But let's not ever miss it again: God did not initiate the sending of spies. The people did! They wanted .. they insisted Moses send someone ahead to check things out. Like Adam and Eve, the Israelites believed a notorious lie that God would somehow fail them. God was holding out on them. God did not have their best interests at heart.
Why do we believe that wolf? I think we believe the wolf, the enemy, the lies because we think we are the primary authority in our lives. We don't trust what is ahead in our lives or the One who is in control. We question. We fret. We worry. We send the spies ahead, if you will. At the heart of it, we aren't standing on the Truth that God has us. In exchange for the Truth, we are believing the lie that He will fail us.
In closing, I was thinking about the silly Icebreaker game we all know and love - "Two Truths and a Lie." Oftentimes, the lie is so bold that we can't help but identify it. Other times it's a little harder. This lie Satan so easily feeds us has the power to halt us; to weaken us; to paralyze. Let it not be so. May God grant us grace to repent and walk in the Truth. May God aid us in the moments where fear grips our hearts that we might be able to quickly identify the lie the enemy is feeding us, as if we are playing that icebreaker game all over again.
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