Good Morning my fellow former idol worshippers. Well not exactly….
Yesterday was our last meeting as we wrapped up our summer study of “No Other God’s”. I was blessed at how many of you faced the torrential rain soak and braved the elements to finish up our time together. I have said it before “you ladies are serious about your Bible Study”!
I think that we were all in agreement on one point. We were sorry to see it end. Many of you told me that you were going to miss not only the fellowship but working on your homework. I was delighted to see all the completed workbooks lifted in the air when I asked you to show me. That my friend is why I do this. Nothing thrills me more then to see women working through the word of God on there own. Just them and God going all the way to the end. My heart is just pounding with delight right now and I sense the heavenly nod and approval of God. He is so pleased with you.
What I didn’t mention yesterday and I would ask it here; do you feel like you have created a Holy habit? Do you find yourself missing having your homework waiting for you? Did you know it takes eight weeks to form a habit? Did you notice our study was eight weeks? If you feel that this has become a habit for you then don’t stop!!! Don’t let it die away. One of the things that has significantly effected my spiritual life is doing a daily Bible Study. My morning routine goes like this…Read my bible, pray, bible study, and lastly memory memorization (yes I am still doing that. Do I hear Holy Habit?). When I finish one Bible Study, I find me another. Some effect and teach me more, some less, but I still make it a habit. If you would like to do more get in touch with me and I can offer some recommendations or pray and ask God to lead you. He will most assuredly answer that prayer.
Ok so why are we not exactly “former idol worshippers”? I think the one thing that I gleaned, and many of you have also, is that this whole idol worship thing is something that will be a life long awareness. We were created to worship, and since we were created to worship, we will worship something and sometimes, if we aren’t careful, we will turn that worship towards a thing that is more readily tangible rather then God. I am certain that you will be challenged and tested with this concept in the future. Hold onto it and don’t let the enemy steal the seed that has been planted in you these last several weeks. Keep pressing on towards God and let’s make Him our ultimate thing!
I love you and I am praying for you as we prepare for what the Lord has planned for us in the Fall. Our first meeting will be September 13th when we will have our opening day. We will be studying Psalm 84, a wonderful psalm that speaks of pilgrimage and gives us a clearer picture of our journey with God. The title of the message is “Pressing the Re-set button”.
“May the LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace” Num 6:24-26
Peace out!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
"No Other Gods" - Week Eight
I can’t believe that we have reached the final week of the study! It seems like we just started. Today we will begin week 8, ‘Making Room’. We will have our final group meeting for the summer on Tuesday, August 16th.
Even though we are nearing the end of the physical study in many ways it is just the beginning of the spiritual application in our lives. In these last seven weeks the Lord has opened my eyes to several areas where I need to make room for Him. On page 162 Kelly reprinted a portion of a letter…..”It seemed like every time our contractor went to ‘fix’ something, it unveiled three more things that needed to be fixed”. This is exactly how I have been feeling. Anyone else?
We are all on a journey. I will remind you, as I have reminded myself, as we walk out what we have learned over the years to come God’s grace will be sufficient to empower us to leave our idols behind. He doesn’t expect us to fix ourselves and be totally transformed by next Tuesday. This brought to mind something I had read in the book Changes That Heal by Dr.Henry Cloud. In his book he makes the point that there are three components to spiritual growth: grace, truth and time. “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:6).
I encourage you to finish strong! God loves you so much and wants you to enjoy the freedom that can only be found in Him.
Even though we are nearing the end of the physical study in many ways it is just the beginning of the spiritual application in our lives. In these last seven weeks the Lord has opened my eyes to several areas where I need to make room for Him. On page 162 Kelly reprinted a portion of a letter…..”It seemed like every time our contractor went to ‘fix’ something, it unveiled three more things that needed to be fixed”. This is exactly how I have been feeling. Anyone else?
We are all on a journey. I will remind you, as I have reminded myself, as we walk out what we have learned over the years to come God’s grace will be sufficient to empower us to leave our idols behind. He doesn’t expect us to fix ourselves and be totally transformed by next Tuesday. This brought to mind something I had read in the book Changes That Heal by Dr.Henry Cloud. In his book he makes the point that there are three components to spiritual growth: grace, truth and time. “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:6).
I encourage you to finish strong! God loves you so much and wants you to enjoy the freedom that can only be found in Him.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Unexpected Delight
What kinds of things bring you delight? Pause for a moment and try to recall the last time you felt sheer joy. Was it with a person? Was it a circumstance? Was it an unexpected surprise? Was it an event? When was the last time you felt pure delight and what was was the catalyst that precipitated it?
The Apostle Paul, who wrote a respectable portion of the New Testament, tells us what he delighted in.
“….I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.” (2 Corinthians 12:10)
I can’t help but wonder, were any of these things on your list? When was the last time you were thrilled about feeling weak and not up to a task? How about insults, hardships, persecutions and difficulties, do you find yourself rejoicing when faced with those kinds of things?
Paul’s bold assertions came from something that he understood and experienced that we as New Testament believers often miss.
“But he (God) said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness,’” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Paul knew that God’s power was never more evident in His life then when he was weak. In the age we live in, strength is usually equated with power. The stronger you are physically or financially the more power you wield. Sometimes I think that mentality seeps its way into the mindset of the church. We get frustrated with our inadequacies and weaknesses when those are the very things that God will work through. We tend to yield to our strengths and what is comfortable rather then stepping out in the areas we are less proficient. Can you imagine the power that we could generate if we stepped out in the kind of faith that actually believed that God could work through our weaknesses?
Do any of these weaknesses resonate with you?
I am not smart enough. My grace is sufficient!
I am not gifted enough. My grace is sufficient!
I am physically too ill to serve God. My grace is sufficient!
My husband is Jewish and not saved. My grace is sufficient!
I have a wretched past. My grace is sufficient!
Every one of those rebuttals was verbalized by my very own mouth at some point in my walk with Christ. I have found countless excuses not to step out in faith and to walk in what He could do because I was blinded by my own distorted perception of what God’s definition of weak is. Paul, however, was very clear about it.
“For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 1 Corinthians 12:10b)
Paul understood that when he was serving Christ, God would provide Him with what He needed. So much so that he boasted “ all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9b)
Do you have a desire to sense the power of God working in your life? Then I propose that you give Him your weakness and ask Him to pour His power in them. Ask Him to show you how to use the things that you feel weak in for His glory. By the authority of His written word, that is a prayer that He will answer. And you, my friend, get yourself ready, because you have just set yourself up to experience an out pouring of pure delight.
God comes in where my helplessness begins.
Oswald Chambers
The Apostle Paul, who wrote a respectable portion of the New Testament, tells us what he delighted in.
“….I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.” (2 Corinthians 12:10)
I can’t help but wonder, were any of these things on your list? When was the last time you were thrilled about feeling weak and not up to a task? How about insults, hardships, persecutions and difficulties, do you find yourself rejoicing when faced with those kinds of things?
Paul’s bold assertions came from something that he understood and experienced that we as New Testament believers often miss.
“But he (God) said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness,’” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Paul knew that God’s power was never more evident in His life then when he was weak. In the age we live in, strength is usually equated with power. The stronger you are physically or financially the more power you wield. Sometimes I think that mentality seeps its way into the mindset of the church. We get frustrated with our inadequacies and weaknesses when those are the very things that God will work through. We tend to yield to our strengths and what is comfortable rather then stepping out in the areas we are less proficient. Can you imagine the power that we could generate if we stepped out in the kind of faith that actually believed that God could work through our weaknesses?
Do any of these weaknesses resonate with you?
I am not smart enough. My grace is sufficient!
I am not gifted enough. My grace is sufficient!
I am physically too ill to serve God. My grace is sufficient!
My husband is Jewish and not saved. My grace is sufficient!
I have a wretched past. My grace is sufficient!
Every one of those rebuttals was verbalized by my very own mouth at some point in my walk with Christ. I have found countless excuses not to step out in faith and to walk in what He could do because I was blinded by my own distorted perception of what God’s definition of weak is. Paul, however, was very clear about it.
“For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 1 Corinthians 12:10b)
Paul understood that when he was serving Christ, God would provide Him with what He needed. So much so that he boasted “ all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9b)
Do you have a desire to sense the power of God working in your life? Then I propose that you give Him your weakness and ask Him to pour His power in them. Ask Him to show you how to use the things that you feel weak in for His glory. By the authority of His written word, that is a prayer that He will answer. And you, my friend, get yourself ready, because you have just set yourself up to experience an out pouring of pure delight.
God comes in where my helplessness begins.
Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
"No Other Gods" Week Seven
Week Seven……
Can you believe it? It is hard to imagine not only that we are commencing on week seven of our eight week study but how many of you are still on target and doing your homework. I can’t wait to see all those completed workbooks. That is something to praise God for. Ok you can take a moment and do that if you like. I can wait.
Once again, you all blessed me immeasurably as we gathered together today. You can’t image how it encourages my heart to see you, 25 women strong, pressing on through this study. This time of year is filled with all manner of distractions that compete to draw us away from Bible Study. But not this group, you are taking your study time with the Lord seriously and I am here to tell you IT SHOWS!!!
I am overwhelmed with all the women who are stepping out in faith to be a part of what we are doing here. You are responding to His call for you to serve in your gifts. Woo Hoo! I saw three women helping Linda with preparing the room; we have 8 group leaders and two people working on bringing the worship that leads us into the weighty presence of God. There are some of you bringing new people and some of you connecting with those that might have missed a week. Stunning is all I have to say. Your desire to be part of what God is doing is infectious and makes every bit of what we do a privilege. Love it!
So today we start on Week Seven of our study. Begin with reading Session 07 The Road Ahead “Coming from Behind” found on page 142 then proceed to the first days homework on page 146. I confess I already jumped ahead and the opening pages point where not only I but I bet a few of you find yourselves from time to time. Kelly points out that sometimes we spiritually want to quit but she encourages us within those first pages with a profound word of why it is best we stay the course and not give up. Give it a read even now if you are feeling ready to throw in the spiritual towel. I am fairly certain she will change you mind.
So there you go….
That’s all I have to say for today.
Thanks for being such a blessing.
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