Author: Jillian McGriff

Today’s Readings: 2 Samuel 22, Galatians 2, Ezekiel 29, Psalm 78:1-37

2 Samuel 22

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
³     my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold and my refuge,
my savior; you save me from violence.
⁴ I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.

Psalm 78

In spite of all this, they still sinned;
despite his wonders, they did not believe.
³³ So he made their days vanish like a breath
and their years in terror.
³⁴ When he killed them, they sought him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
³⁵ They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God their redeemer.
³⁶ But they flattered him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
³⁷ Their heart was not steadfast toward him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.

Sometimes, when I’m writing for Bible Journal I copy down pieces of the day’s scripture in my little notebook. Throughout the week I go back to those groups of words and draw lines of meaning between them. There are endless ways to read God’s word. That’s why it’s truly His greatest gift to us. Even if you’ve read a certain verse over and over, on any given day it may take on new meaning in your life. Today, as I built a visual map of my post I realized that the verses that speak to me the most are the very first lines and last lines of our Bible reading plan. The message is so simple. It speaks to our fallibility and human nature. In the first reading from second Samuel we hear these familiar words:

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer…” (2 Samuel 22:2)

And we know the rest…it fills our sails. God is our rock, our refuge, our stronghold and our shield. We need these words. We get through our hardest moments with these words whispered under our breath. When I’m alone with our son and he is in pain, when there is nothing I can do to make it go away, I say these words. But in spite of all of this, I still sin. Psalm 78 is about me. It’s about you, and the guy next to you drinking his morning coffee. Our days are actually vanishing like a breath.  When we get into trouble, of course we repent and we run to Him. There are times when we seek him earnestly. There are times when our hearts are not as steadfast as they should be. We are not always faithful to our covenant with Him. In spite of it all we are still going to sin. Despite the miracles and wonders he performs in our lives, we still falter. I spent some time this weekend traveling for work. I used some of that time to write down the wonders God has created in my life. I also wrote down some times that I wasn’t as faithful as I wish I could be. Some times when I questioned his presence in my life and even questioned if he was punishing me. Finally, I took the time to hand write the first four verses of second Samuel 22. Taking this time to just write God’s word brings me closer to Him. It helps me to see the lines he’s drawing and connecting in my life. Connecting our beginnings and endings help us to see His grace. I pray that you’ll consider taking time this week to write down the times He’s been your rock, your refuge, your stronghold and your shield.  Connect His word to your heart!

Today’s Readings: 2 Samuel 15, 2 Corinthians 8, Ezekiel 22, Psalm 67

This is the first time I’m really diving into 2 Corinthians…in my lifetime. I know, I probably lost half our readers there, but I’m a firm believer in transparency! I’m finding that I’m just really convicted by the messages for us there. I don’t have lots of great Bible history or insight for you today. Instead I just want to share some of my own faith story. In second Corinthians, Paul speaks of giving generously. This is an area that I have struggled in the past. Putting my whole faith and trust in the Lord to provide for us was just really scary. I’ve always struggled with the fact that despite having really successful careers, my husband and I don’t have a fancy house or really nice cars. What we do have is a lot of medical debt for our five year old and some student loans on two doctoral degrees that could pretty much build a castle!

I’ve listened to lots of sermons on cheerful giving and putting your trust in God when it comes to finances. I always felt so moved by those sermons, but that old sense of doubt would come creeping in and I’d be back to placing my trust in the dollar bill and not my Heavenly Father. This summer, our family was humbled to our knees when our son became so ill that required weeks of hospitalization. This community, our Bible Journal community showed our family what Paul meant by generosity. I was taken to my knees again this week when I read these words,

“For you know that grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)

This week, my husband and I were given an opportunity to give. An opportunity to give to another family experiencing deep pain and grief. For the first time I felt the absolute freedom and grace in giving. True giving, not substantial giving, but giving of what we have to bring others closer to God. We don’t have much, but there was so much freedom and reward in sharing it. I felt like I could truly connect with Paul’s teaching,

“So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.” (2 Corinthians 8:11)

Do you see? We don’t have to wait to become wealthy to be givers. Instead, we only have to become ready. We only have to experience the deep love of Jesus through generosity one time to become ready to share it. When I think back over the last few months of our life, the moments I remember are the times when people came to the hospital to be with us even though it wasn’t easy. I remember the days I wasn’t sure how we would pay for daycare for our daughters, only to be blessed hours later with all the childcare we needed. I remember fear and sadness giving way to comfort and peace in Jesus and the plan he has for our family. Now we get to share that peace with other families. We get to share that living sacrifice with others because it was so generously given to us. I pray for all of us that we give according to what we have rather than what we don’t have. I pray for each of you that have given so generously. Thank you for shining Christ’s light in our life.  We and our children know the love of Jesus because of you.

Today’s Readings: 2 Samuel 7, 2 Corinthians 1, Ezekiel 15, Psalms 56-57

Good morning Bible readers! I don’t often write without a plan or outline but today is different. There are so many good things in our daily scripture readings that I think I’ll just let God lead us through. For those that attend Eastview Christian Church, the message today was about being “all in.” Of course, as I sit down with my three different bibles this afternoon I’m sure it’s no coincidence that all of our readings today speak to being all in for God. For me this message is so important. I really need that reminder to be active in my faith. As our daily lives get busy, we tend to set God aside thinking that there will be a time and place for Him later. We all know that there is no later. Even in the last few days I’ve been asked by a few different people to commit just a bit more of myself to God. It’s a struggle but the answer has to be yes.

Today our reading begins in 2 Samuel. In chapter 7 we learn about the Lord’s covenant with David. We hear the prophet Nathan giving David this message from God,

“Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling.” (2 Samuel 7:5-7)

Now, it’s hard for me as a newer Christian to really imagine God following the Israelites around in a tent. But what he is really saying to David is that the important thing to build is the church. Not a physical church, but a community of committed believers. What is important is that he and his people remain faithful. He goes on later this chapter to make some real promises, some very significant covenants. He promises David that he will appoint a place for the Israelites and plant them there. He says that they will be disturbed no more, that violent men shall afflict them no more, that he will give them rest. Nathan goes on to tell David that his throne shall be established forever in God’s steadfast love. Hello. Don’t you just feel like trading places with David today? Imagine the comfort and reassurance he felt in that moment. But we must remember how he got there. He got there by truly committing himself to God. By being all in. By saying yes Lord. Isn’t it exciting that this same covenant is actually available to us simply by saying yes Lord? But somehow we really feel like it’s not so simple. We’d rather have the new iPhone 7 than say yes Lord.

 That theme of idolatry takes us right into the next reading for today, 2 Corinthians 1. Now, we hear from Paul sharing the same message thousands of years later. Again, I just cannot believe that it’s coincidence that God teaching us the same lesson twice in our readings today. It just has to be important! Paul is writing a second letter to the church of Corinth. In the first letter he urges them to deal with moral issues regarding sex and marriage and conscience. But then, there were false teachers in Corinth. People that twisted Paul’s words and turned the Corinthian’s away from faith in Jesus. Paul has been slandered. Young believers were easy prey for false teachers. The NIV Study Bible describes the church at Corinth as weak, surrounded by idolatry and immorality. They struggled with their Christian faith and lifestyle.

Instead of responding in anger, Paul opens his letter with a message about God’s comfort.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:4-7)

Paul is reminding us that when God comforts us, it’s not that our problems go away. He wants us to turn to him out of love for him in times of joy and sadness. Instead, we understand that receiving comfort from Him means strength, encouragement and even hope for our future. The trials we endure now will bring us nearer to him and render us more able to comfort those around us facing the same trial. God is asking us to be all in today. He wants to be our one and only. I love hearing Him and seeing Him through is word. Hope you do too.

Today’s Readings: 1 Samuel 29-30, 1 Corinthians 10, Ezekiel 8, Psalm 46-47

When I read through today’s scripture passages 1 Corinthians 10 really resonated with me. As soon as I read this passage:

“The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of one bread.” (1 Corinthians 16-17)

I always get really excited when I’m reading my Bible and I start to hear a song. As children we learn about Jesus first through those classic beloved Bible songs. Growing up in the church and singing on Sundays, those songs multiply and become sort of a personal passageway to Christ. When I read this scripture yesterday, I heard a really old tune I learned for a non-denominational prayer service in 1993 called “We are One Body.” The chorus goes like this:

We are one body, one body in Christ

And we do not stand alone

We are one body, one body in Christ

And he came that we might have life

These simple words came alive for me today when I read them on the printed page of my Bible. Paul is really calling our attention to the importance of corporate worship in 1 Corinthians 10. Yes, chapter 10 is really about idolatry and is more or less a cautionary tale for the Corinthian believer who thought himself strong enough to participate in pagan rituals without compromising his relationship with God. Paul is calling us to recognize our impending accountability on the last judgment day. As Christians we represent one unified body that is dependent upon the death of Christ.

“Because we are one bread, we who are many are one body.”

(1 Corinthians 10:17 HSCB)

 As individual members we make up one corporate body. Together we are united through Christ’s death but individually we all have union with Christ. In other words we all belong. There are no exclusions. Although the message of idolatry or “other Gods” is so very important, today I’m really moved to share the message that He is with us. He wants us to take these individual risks to get to know Him better and therefore be a more active member of the corporate group. I’ll share with you, my Bible Journal friends that I took a big old leap of faith just this morning. For years God has nudged me, needled me and then literally pushed me into joining vocal team at ECC. I’ve always resisted. I have lots of music training and lots of experience singing in church. For some reason there was a roadblock for me when it came to auditioning at Eastview. I never felt that I was worthy of that kind of singing for Christ. I never felt like I belonged in that space. I told God that when all the stars were aligned; when all my little conditions were met I would audition for the team. I knew they never would…until they did. Then I told Him that I’d really show Him, that I’d audition and make of fool of myself and I’d prove to Him just how unworthy I am. I was so not going to do it. And then Matt Ludwig called. And I heard myself say, “yes.” Not so much, “yes Matt” but “yes Lord.” This morning, for the very first time I got to stand face to face with a crowd of Christians and see them raise their voices, their arms and their hearts to the Lord. I understood then that this opportunity isn’t about standing on a stage, it isn’t about being on stage. It’s a closeness I’ve never felt before. When we all stand, and we all sing together we are truly one body. Together, we can worship him more deeply. Together we can draw Him closer and see him more clearly.

Today’s Readings: 1 Samuel 21-22, 1 Corinthians 3, Ezekiel 1, Psalm 37

Hello friends! Another Monday is upon us. I’m loving this slow transition into a new school year, a new season and the feeling of gentle changes in our lives. Our little guy Oliver needed some quiet time over the weekend to let his body adjust to this new normal of Kindergarten with Crohn’s. As he sleeps on this sunny afternoon I’m reading and absorbing Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. Chapter 3 begins with Paul addressing the Corinthians as “infants in Christ.” He continues with a metaphor about feeding the new Christians with only milk as they are not yet mature enough for solid food. I was drawn into this chapter today because it begins at the beginning. Before things get really complicated for Christ’s followers. Paul is basically giving the Corinthians a syllabus and a calendar of assignments. First on the list is reminding the Corinthians that they are more or less “still of the flesh.” Great news, so am I! Paul says this:

“I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, I follow Paul and another I follow Apollos are you not being merely human?”(1 Corinthians 3:2-4)

I always benefit from some personal reflection about which God I’m putting first in my life. The next part of this chapter helps us to frame our roots in Christianity. Paul reminds us that he and other disciples are vessels through whom we become Christ followers. He says:

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:6-12)

 We are God’s field, we are his building! We are surrounded by skilled master builders that show us the way in Christ. Each one of us has a foundation story and each one of us is now responsible for the building onto that foundation. I just had to share these verses today because I found a piece of my foundation today. While cleaning a closet I found a note I had saved for over four years. The small piece of notebook paper was folded over and over itself. When I unfurled it, alone in my closet which I now share with my two daughters, I recognized the handwriting. I’ve read this letter countless times but not in the last few years. It was written to me by Crystal Smith a woman I admire so much for her steadfast faith in Jesus. In the letter she encourages me not to fear the future, not to get wrapped up in the what if’s. She reminds me that God has a very specific plan for me and my family. She tells me that I have value and purpose. That although I’ll be tested as a mother, I will not be alone. At the time, our son Oliver had just been diagnosed with his heart condition and I lived in fear that we would never be blessed with more children. I know now that Crystal was one of a few very important foundation builders. I don’t know her well, but I know that God spoke through her to get to me and ultimately save me. I hope you’ll reach out this week to one of your foundation layers. More importantly, I hope you’ll sit down and write a letter to someone who needs a rock to begin their foundation.

Today’s Readings: Ruth 1; Acts 26; Jeremiah 36; 45; Psalm 9

Every now and then God reveals himself to us. We have to be present and looking for him. When we are, these moments are enough to sustain us. They can take us out of dark places and into the light.

This weekend I took a much needed break to be with a group of women I’ve been close to for years. For the first time in a long time I was able to sleep through the night, eat food while sitting down and have some quiet rest. A few hours after I left home, my husband called to say that his uncle had passed away very suddenly. An accident, and then one short day for all to say goodbye. This man was in so many ways a mentor for my husband. He loved his wife, his children, his grandchildren and even his great grandchildren. He had a hand in raising them all. His flame was blown out in an instant and we are left with such loss and sadness. My mind has gone over and over what it would be like to lose my husband so quickly. To not know when I got in the car and left that morning that I may never get to talk with him again. That I may lose the very essence of who he is to me and our children in the span of one short day.

I hadn’t read my readings for today until this afternoon. Hadn’t done my homework until the last minute. When I opened my Bible to the very first chapter assigned for us today, there they were. At the very end of Ruth chapter 1 were our wedding vows.

“Do not urge me to leave you…for wherever you go, I will go. Wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people shall be my people and your God my God. Where you die, I will die and there I will be buried…” Ruth (1:16-17)

 My breath got caught in my chest when I read these sacred words. When I chose them 8 years ago, it was because I had heard them and just liked them. I found them on the internet. I had never searched for them within the pages of my Bible. Today for the very first time I discovered them in God’s word! I didn’t know that these vows were initially made between a mother and her daughter-in law after the death of her son. The story of Ruth begins with the death of three husbands. It begins with Naomi telling her daughters- in-law that they must leave her and go home as her husbands and sons have died. Instead of abandoning her, Ruth insists upon staying at Naomi’s side. I love this story. It reminds me that as Christian’s we are here to love one another, support one another and hold each other when grief and tragedy strikes. I love that God brought this scripture to us today in our family’s time of darkness. It shows us that he’s here, that he loves us and that our sadness on this earth is only temporary. It shows us that God keeps his promises. Finding these words gave me absolute assurance that His plan is alive and working in our lives.

Although I don’t have much to add about historical context or broader connections today, I wanted to share this encounter I had with God! It’s so exciting in the midst of our sadness and fear. We have a very big week coming up with medical tests for our little boy and my husband flying out to be with his family and say goodbye to a man he dearly loved. I hope you don’t mind if I share our vows here to let him know that God is alive in our marriage. If you are married, I hope you’ll take the time to share your vows with one another this week. We don’t know when our heavenly Father will call us home.

I, Jillian, take you Lynden to be my husband. I will trust you and honor you, I will laugh with you and cry with you, I will love you faithfully. Through the best and the worst, the difficult and the easy. I will always be there whatever may come. As I have given you my hand to hold, so I give you my life to keep. For where you go I will go and where you stay I will stay. Your people shall be my people and your God my God.