Tag: Word

Tools for a Life of Prayer: Paraphrasing Scripture as Meditation

On By CaitlynIn Prayer and Worship

I’ve always been a writer. For me, writing is how I best process and share ideas. It should come as no surprise that writing is one of the ways I study and meditate on Scripture!

One of the ways that I use writing to interact with Scripture is paraphrasing chapters. Whenever I find myself in a funk in engaging with the Word, paraphrasing is one of my top go-to tools to help me focus and talk to God through a passage. (My other go-to is singing the Word… I will post about that in a few weeks!)

Paraphrasing is a powerful way to digest Scripture. It forces you to take the verses in, mull them over, and understand them well enough to put them in your own words. You may have heard that the best way to learn something is to teach it; paraphrasing is like teaching yourself.

One of the most beautiful encounters I’ve ever had with God came through paraphrasing. God had been telling me that I was in a “Song of Solomon 2 season”, and I had an idea of what that meant, but as I started paraphrasing the words of the King to the Bride in that chapter, it became so personal. Layer after layer started unfolding, and as I wrote, it began to feel as if I was simply transcribing what the Spirit was whispering in my ear. The structure was still loosely Song of Solomon 2, but so many more images and references and Narnia quotes and poetic descriptions of literal things I had been going through started pouring out. That journal page is so precious to me, because as I wrote, the Word came alive.

When you paraphrase, it’s okay to highlight one layer of truth more than another. Scripture is so rich with meaning in every word; when we change the words, we are almost certainly going to lose some of the meaning. That’s okay! You can paraphrase it again with a different slant later if you want.

I asked some of my Facebook friends to paraphrase Psalm 23:1-2, and I got quite a range of responses! Below is just a sampling of some of them.

Psalm 23:1-2 ESV
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.

Yahweh is my caretaker. He provides for me. He teaches me to rest. He keeps me safe. (Josh)

The Lord is my bro. He gives me everything I need. I find safety and peace when I’m with him. (Cherish)

The Lord sustains me. He calls me to rest in the finished works of the Cross. In His sovereignty, there is the peace of wholeness. (Bryce)

The Lord has all that I need and knows where I need to go to get it. He leads me there! He makes me rest and he refreshes me. (Christine)

God is my best friend, my confidant and my guide. He makes sure I have the best and safest place to rest. He always makes sure I have what I need. (Gregg)

God delights in taking care of me, and He is diligent in His care. I have everything I need to do His will. He gives me rest when he knows I need it, even when I might not want to. He brings me peace. (Marta)

These paraphrases all have some similarities, but I love how each one brings out a slightly different dimension of the verses! God’s word is like a thousand-sided gem, and every time you look at it, you’ll see something new.

Of course, your paraphrase is NOT Scripture itself, so it is still subject to the “test everything; hold fast what is good” rule of 1 Thessalonians 5:21. There have been times I paraphrased something only to revisit it later and realize that a few things were a little off. Don’t let the fear of missing it keep you from diving in, though. As long as you don’t treat your paraphrase like the direct, unquestionable Word of God, this can be a powerful tool to help you engage with the Holy Spirit as you dig into Scripture!

Let’s try this with the first four Beatitudes in Matthew 5. This is a great chapter to practice paraphrasing, because some of the phrases can become a bit overly familiar and merely poetic to our ears until we really try to dig into them.

Matthew 5:3-6

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

God blesses those who recognise their spiritual lack, and He will give them royal access into His kingdom.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

God blesses those who are grieved over their sin, and He will give them peace.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

God blesses those who choose humility, and they will be trusted with rulership alongside Jesus over the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

God blesses those who deeply long for holiness and the things of God. He won’t leave them empty, but will give them what they seek.

As I did this just now, it forced me to really consider what each phrase means, and find my own words to make it “real” and help it strike my heart. I also found that I was drawing on other Bible knowledge. How do I know that “mourn” relates to grieving in repentance over sin? Because of passages I’ve previously studied such as 2 Corinthians 7:10 – “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation…” Paraphrasing is an opportunity to weave these truths together. Often, I’ll think of different verses and find connections I never would have otherwise!

Occasionally, I’ve set out to paraphrase entire chapters. Certain friends of mine have even paraphrased entire books of the Bible. Often, though, I’ll take a chunk that I feel the Holy Spirit is highlighting to me and work through it slowly, asking Him for insight to help me catch a fresh glimpse of each verse. He loves to speak, especially about His word! Paraphrasing is a practical, precious way I can begin the conversation with Him.

Check out my paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13!

Have you ever paraphrased scripture as a way to meditate on it? What part of the Bible is your favorite to paraphrase? Tell me in the comments!

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What I’m Praying: Lift Up Your Heads, O Gates

On By CaitlynIn What I'm Praying

Continuing my semi-regular/whenever-I-get-around-to-it series on What I’m Praying: the past few weeks, I’ve been singing through Psalm 24:7-10. A couple of months ago I was praying this chapter from a different angle, focussing mostly on verse 1, “The earth is the Lord‘s and the fullness thereof,” and the reign of the King of glory in supersession of the kings of the earth, in conjunction with Psalm 2:6’s proclamation “I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” While I was singing that, a part of me kept getting distracted by this theme of opening the gates in Psalm 24:7-10.

“Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord, strong and mighty,
    the Lord, mighty in battle!
Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And lift them up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord of hosts,
    he is the King of glory!”
(Psalm 24:7-10)

One of my favourite things about studying the Bible is getting a little bit familiar with the whole story so when I read a passage, my brain can automatically fill in imagery from other passages and I get a bigger picture of what’s happening. So when I read this passage, I immediately think of Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem when He returns to earth and comes to claim His throne.

I’m not going to cite all the references for this, but here’s the scenario in my head: Jesus has come in the clouds at the 7th trumpet and “raptured” the saints, then marched through the land setting captives free (mostly unsaved Jews who were being persecuted by the antichrist) and releasing the final bowl judgments of Revelation 15-16. (Isaiah 63:1-6, Revelation 19:11-16, Habakkuk 3:3-16) He comes to the eastern gate of Jerusalem with an army of resurrected saints behind Him, at which point the remaining Jewish leaders in Jerusalem actually recognise who He is and welcome Him in as King. That’s the moment that Psalm 24 finds us in.

So as I’ve been singing this in my sets, I’ve been meditating on the glory of Jesus as the conquering King, and also on the prophecy that Israel WILL welcome Him as King.

Jesus Himself prophesied that He would not return to Jerusalem until its leaders recognised and welcomed Him. Every time I read it, I can feel the yearning in Jesus’ heart for His people to know Him:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! …For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'”
(Matthew 23:37-39)

This same longing in Jesus’ heart is so clear also in Zechariah:

“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.”
(Zechariah 2:10-12)

That phrase “and you shall know” gets me every time. “At last, you’ll believe. At last, you’ll accept Me.”

Later, Zechariah prophesies of the repentance that will grip Israel when they see Jesus on that Day:

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.”
(Zechariah 12:10)

That Day when Israel–and specifically Jerusalem, the Holy City, the City of the Great King– finally, FINALLY accepts Him as their own Messiah is so near and dear to Jesus’ heart. Every time I sing these verses I feel my heart get so tender and I end up just prophesying over Jerusalem and praying for them to recieve their Messiah.

Jerusalem, open up your gates, and welcome your King! Who is this King of glory? Who is this warrior coming up with bloodstained garments? He is YHWH, your Messiah, the Son of David. Welcome Him as a firstborn son. Weep over the wounds in His hands and feet. He’s here to establish His kingdom and fulfill every promise. Invite Him in.

Jesus, thank You for Your faithfulness to all of Your promises. Come quickly and establish Your kingdom from Jerusalem. Save Your people Israel. Let them know You. Even now, would You bring many Jewish people to repentance. Remove the veil from their hearts and let them see You as You are– their King, their Messiah, their God. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, and do everything You want to do.

“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they [Israel] may be saved.”
(Romans 10:1)

Rapid Fire Prayer Topic

At the end of every set, everyone in the room lines up at the mic to pray short “rapid fire” prayers on a certain topic, usually related to something happening within the ministry. Right now, our topic is:

For Revive Texas to get $290,000 to pay for all the volunteers’ meals during the 50 days of outreach.

Every day for 50 days, tens of thousands of believers across DFW are going to gather at ten host churches to get equipped and fellowship together, and from there they will go out to the streets to share the gospel. Revive Texas plans to feed everyone at these host locations every day, but they need financial breakthrough to make that happen. We’ve been praying that God would in a moment put it on someone’s heart to write a check for $290,000!

God, provide for Revive Texas. You’ve been so faithful to meet every need thus far– do it again! Break in and give us this $290,000 for the meals.

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What I’m Praying: Psalm 37

On By CaitlynIn What I'm Praying5 Comments

I’d like to kick off a regular series on my blog called What I’m Praying. I spend 30 hours a week in the prayer room, and most of the daily testimonies I’m experiencing are prayer-related. I want to bring you into the journey of what God is speaking to me and putting on my heart to speak back to Him, as well as the intercessory burdens that we’re carrying corporately as a ministry.

This week, I’ve often been singing through Psalm 37:4-6 when I lead my devotional worship sets.

“Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.”
(Psalm 37:4-6)

The context of this passage is basically the frustration of the righteous living in a generation of the wicked, and the psalmist’s encouragement to trust in God because He will one day turn the tables and set everything right. There’s a lot to be said eschatologically about promises like “The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever” (v 29) when the wicked are permanently cut off (both ideas are repeated several times in this one passage), but for the purpose of my devos I’ve been singing these verses with a much more personal application.

God, I choose to delight myself in You. I choose to make You my joy. You are my greatest treasure and highest pleasure. I intentionally turn my gaze and choose to rejoice in You and simply enjoy You.

I believe You will fulfill the desires of my heart that You’ve placed in me. If You’ve put them there, You care about them even more than I do. You are always faithful to Your promises, no matter how long it takes.

I commit my way to You; I acknowledge You in all my ways. (Prov 3:6) I surrender the right to control my own life. I want You to direct my steps. I trust that You will act. Your plans and Your timing always work out better than me trying to make things happen on my own, anyway.

As I wait, as I stay in the tension of trusting You even when I can’t see what You’re doing, You’re making my righteousness shine. You’re making me look like You. Even as Jerusalem’s righteousness will one day shine with Your glory, (Is 62:1) You are literally preparing me for an eternal weight of glory (2 Cor 4:17) in a resurrected body that will shine like the stars to one degree or another depending on how I live in this age. (Dan 12:3, Matt 13:43, 1 Cor 15:35-49) Every little moment by moment choice I make to trust You and delight myself in You will be rewarded, and I will shine.

Rapid Fire Prayer Topic

At the end of every set, everyone in the room lines up at the mic to pray short “rapid fire” prayers on a certain topic, usually related to something happening within the ministry. Right now, our topic is:

For the Lord to move on people’s hearts to join Sacred Trust and that it would grow back to 100 before Revive Texas.

Our Sacred Trust is the commitment that people make to join at least one two-hour prayer meeting a week. We’re asking God that more people would make such a commitment, so that when we’re doing 24/7 prayer and worship for the 50 days of Revive Texas, we would have enough people to sustain that schedule. We currently have just over 75 people on the Sacred Trust, so we’re praying for at least around 25 more over the next few months!

God, bring people who would commit to pray with us weekly! Put the vision for 24/7 prayer on many hearts and strengthen Your house of prayer.

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Revelation Study/Getaway Weekend!

On By CaitlynIn Bible Stuff, Ministry Life3 Comments
Bible, beach, babes.

This past weekend, I attended a mini women’s retreat with a few ladies from my church. We went to a friend’s condo in Oceanside, CA, and spent the weekend walking on the beach, talking, praying, and studying the Bible together. It was a truly special and memorable weekend!

I was asked to prepare a few teachings on the book of Revelation, and so was another woman, named Lynn. Revelation probably isn’t the topic I would have chosen for a women’s retreat (I mean, isn’t Song of Solomon and Proverbs 31 more typical fare for these kinds of things? I’ve actually never been to a women’s retreat before.) but these ladies were really hungry to know what the Word says about this crucial area of understanding– the end times and the return of Jesus.

I admit to being nervous about the teaching. Lynn planned to also teach on Revelation, but from the opposite eschatological perspective. Whereas I believe that the events of Revelation are still to come (the futurist/historical premillennialist view), she believes that most of the events were fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD (the partial preterist/amillennialist view). I really wasn’t sure what form those discussions would take, and even though I’ve studied several different eschatological views, I was really nervous about being able to represent my beliefs well in this kind of situation.

As it turned out, everything went very smoothly. I was amazed at the unity and fellowship that God brought. Several of the ladies got deeply touched by the Father, and we all felt very encouraged. I came to love and respect Lynn very much; she is extremely kind, wise, and hungry for God and His truth. Her wisdom as we candidly discussed different life situations and world issues was invaluable. She has spent years studying Revelation, sometimes for 10-15 hours each week, while being a wife and homeschooling mom. I was deeply provoked by her determination to search out truth for herself, as well as the way she prioritised relationship over debating. That’s a woman who loves Jesus and loves people very well indeed!

I also noticed several themes that we both shared as we were teaching:

  1. Revelation is meant to be understood by all believers, not only the theologically elite.
  2. Revelation becomes clear as we let Scripture interpret Scripture.
  3. Revelation is the revelation OF JESUS CHRIST (Rev. 1:1) – it’s the story of His heart.
  4. Revelation isn’t meant to be fearful- it’s a story of hope and courage for the Church.
  5. Revelation is at its core the story of a jealous God of love, not an angry, trigger-happy God of smitage*.
  6. Revelation sees the Church come into full maturity as the Bride finally looks like Jesus.
  7. Revelation ends with God’s Kingdom being fully established and His Bride being with Him forever.

I also had volunteered to lead worship (I brought my little keyboard and set it up on the kitchen table), and it was such a privilege to glorify the Lord through song with these ladies and invite the Holy Spirit into our midst. God brought a supernatural unity as we fellowshipped, studied, worshipped, and prayed.

Here are the notes from my Revelation teachings this weekend. I’m also adding the timelines from IHOPKC that I used and gave the ladies with the session 1 notes. Many more study resources can be found at IHOPKC.org.

Session 1 – Themes and Structure
Session 2 – Bridegroom, King, and Judge
Session 3 – Jesus’ Second Coming
IHOPKC Revelation timeline
screenshot_2016-09-13-20-43-01-1
*Don’t go looking for that word in any theological dictionary. You won’t find it.

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