Category: Bible Study

The Pros and Cons of “More”

Not all of these issues have black and white answers–just like my son’s view on the quantity of his Legos differs from mine. The Bible is one of the best places to find clear answers. Determining if you have more of something than you should is between you and God.

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Crossing the floor of my younger son’s bedroom sometimes feels like navigating my way through a bed of nails. When he is deep into his creative mode, colorful plastic Legos with hard edges and sharp corners cover his carpet. He can sit for hours surrounded by a pile of his favorite building materials. Vehicles, skyscrapers, spaceships and mini figures have overtaken much of the real estate on his bedroom floor. Although I often point out that he has more than enough, requests for new Lego sets regularly appear on his birthday and Christmas wish lists. He sighs at my lack of understanding when I use words like “gluttony” or “hoarding” to describe his obsession with Legos. It’s a good-natured disagreement over a fairly minor issue.   He thinks he needs more and I think he has more than he needs.

It turns out the Bible has quite a bit to say about the concept of “more” but the issues have much higher stakes. Sometimes abundance is positive, as we see when Paul, Silas and Timothy urge the Thessalonians to please God and to love one another more and more:

“As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more…  Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more.” (1 Thessalonians 4:1,9-10, NIV, bold print added)

There are other times, however, when Scripture shows “more” as not necessarily positive:

-Hatred: “Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more.” (Genesis 37:5, NIV, bold print added)

-Corruption: “But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways. (Judges 2:19, NIV, bold print added)

-Fear: “Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days.” (1 Samuel 18:29, NIV, bold print added)

-Sinful Behavior: “Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.” (Ephesians 4:19, NIV, bold print added)

Beth Moore explains the tension between positive and negative abundance in our lives: “Something is going to grow. Something will get ‘more’ of us. Will it be hatred? Coldness? Addiction? Sensuality? Perversion? Devotion? Affection? Belief? Blessing? Ask yourself this question as I do the same: knowing the propensity of things to grow, which way do I want to go? ‘More and more’ one direction will force its antithesis into ‘less and less.’ We get to decide which we want to feed and which we want to starve.” (Children of the Day, p. 93)

Sometimes it’s wise and healthy to take a step back and evaluate the things in our lives that are influencing us “more and more.” Use the questions below to consider how each area impacts what grows “more and more” in our lives:

The company we keep:

-Are our typical activities and topics of conversation honoring to God?

-Does alcohol play a prominent role in our times together and would we still have fun without it?

-How are our personal attitudes and outlooks affected after spending time together?

-Are our worldly friends rubbing off on us more or is our Christian faith rubbing off on them more?

The social and extracurricular activities in which our families participate:

-How do they impact our schedules and ability to have healthy time margins?

-Does involvement in them still make it possible to go to church and be involved in Christian community?

-Are they defining our self-worth or our children’s self-worth?

-Are they bringing out the best in our families or making us more prone to comparison and unhealthy competition?

The entertainment we enjoy:

-Do the movies, TV shows, magazines, books, websites, social media, blogs, games and other past times we like influence us more toward worldly viewpoints or godly ones?

-Do we make time for entertainment, but struggle to find time to spend with God daily?

The material things we acquire:

-Do we talk about, look at and shop for material things continually?

-Are there any material things that have captured our attention and become the central focus of our lives?

-Are we willing to make needed changes when we recognize that material objects are mattering to us “more and more”?

The personal comfort we crave:

-Do we spend a significant amount of time arranging for and focusing on our own personal comfort?

-Is an emphasis on our physical, emotional and relational comfort causing us to become self-centered?

-Is being comfortable more important than letting God stretch us in new ways?

Finding a healthy balance with these things is a lifelong endeavor that requires constant prayer and vigilance. Not all of these issues have black and white answers–just like my son’s view on the quantity of his Legos differs from mine. The Bible is one of the best places to find clear answers.  Determining if you have more of something than you should is between you and God.

If you’re feeling convicted after reading through the questions and consulting Scripture, do not be discouraged. This is a great step toward healthy growth and shows that you have a teachable heart. God is ready and waiting to help you when you admit your struggle to Him. In addition to praying, you may need to ask for help from a wise friend, counselor or pastor.   There is no need for guilt or personal condemnation.   God’s Word promises us: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning.” (Lamentations 3:22-23a, NIV)

The good news is that there are things that we can pursue “more and more” without worrying about negative effects:

The Bible: The more we study it, the more we can be amazed by how God’s truth is woven together from start to finish. The more we learn, the hungrier we become to know more.

Prayer: The more we lay at the feet of God, the more we see Him working in our lives. This leads to more trust in God and more peace in all circumstances.

Jesus:  The more time we spend with Him, the more He reveals Himself to us and the deeper our relationship with Him grows.

The Holy Spirit: The more we ask Him to fill us, the more He gives us wisdom and enables us to impact the lives of others.

Christian Music: The more we listen to Christian music, the more we’re drawn to the heart of God and to seeing the world through a biblical lens.

A Godly Perspective on our Time and Finances: The more we see our time and money as belonging to God, the more willing we are to put aside our personal agendas in order to pursue Him, give generously and serve others to further His kingdom.

For more inspiration, click on the link to hear Colton Dixon’s song “More of You.” Make it your prayer as you listen.

(quote from Moore, Beth; Children of the Day; 2014; Lifeway Press; http://www.lifeway.com)

Advance Part 2: Postures of Prayer

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In my last posting, I shared the first few points from Beth Moore’s teaching at a Living Proof Live event I attended in Stockton, California. We began going through an acrostic: A-D-V-A-N-C-E based on Philippians 1:22-24. Last time we looked at her first two points:

A- A Kingdom is Coming

D- Dare to Advance It

This post will focus on the next two letters in the acrostic, which both involve prayer.

V- Vie Fiercely in Prayer

I took a peek at the definition of “vie” so that we’d all be clear on what this means. It is a verb meaning “to strive in competition or rivalry with another; to contend for superiority.” We are vying with Satan to see the Kingdom of God advanced while he attempts to thwart us. The way to claim territory for God is through praying fiercely!

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:11-12)

Beth explained that we are not going to live bolder than we pray. We must access the resources God has given us. When we do this, our prayers become powerful and the gospel advances. We have to advance in our prayer lives before we can advance the kingdom of God on earth or we’ll be ill prepared to keep hold of the territory we claim for Christ. Beth admonished us saying that demons should shudder when we enter into prayer.

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16b)

If you’re hesitant to think of yourself as righteous, keep this in mind: This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:22-24)

We claim righteousness for ourselves through accepting Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for our sins.   Once we realize our righteousness comes from Him alone, we gain access to the power of him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. (Ephesians 3:20)

If you’re feeling a bit unsure of how to advance in your prayer life, consider studying one of the many books written on prayer. Two that have had a lasting impact on me are Live a Praying Life by Jennifer Kennedy Dean and Lord, Teach Me to Pray by Kay Arthur. If you have a book that has impacted your prayer life, please comment below so that others can benefit from it.

A- Add Traction to Your Action

Beth encouraged us to think about our physical posture in prayer and challenged us to change it up from time to time to keep our prayer lives fresh.  This shouldn’t be treated as a formula or used superstitiously, but the way we position our bodies does communicate different things to God. She examined four common postures for prayer that are repeated throughout scripture: face down, on our knees, seated and standing.

Face Down:

Lying face down on the floor with my arms spread wide is a posture I use when I want to show God I am in full surrender–this usually happens when I’m in a desperate situation and finally realize I have no one else who can help me the way God can. When I’m face down on the floor before God, my prayers are usually not very eloquent but more of a blurting of words in random order. As I breathe out, I release the thoughts and feelings that cloud my mind: fear, anxiety, confusion, or discouragement. As I breathe in, I invite God to replace all of the negativity with trust, peace, clarity, or encouragement. I rarely have the answer to my dilemma by the time I get off the floor, but I always have a new perspective and a renewed sense of peace knowing God is in control.

For biblical examples of face down prayers check out: Abraham (Genesis 17), Moses (Numbers 20), Jesus (Matthew 26).

On Our Knees:

Praying in this position shows humility before God. It was Daniel’s posture when he sought God’s help after learning King Darius signed a decree forbidding prayers to anyone other than him.   Sometimes kneeling is associated with more formal or traditional styles of worship, but it is a fitting posture anytime we want to show God we know He is bigger and wiser than us.

For a few biblical examples of people praying on their knees check out: Solomon (2 Chronicles 6), Daniel (Daniel 6), Psalm 95:6.

Seated:

This may be the most common posture in the modern church, however it is one of the least- mentioned postures in Scripture. We see David seated before God in prayer as he reviews the things God has done for him and discusses the future with Him. Much of my personal prayer time happens in the seated position as I lift up prayers of adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication. Many years ago I learned that my prayers were more focused when I wrote them in a journal.   Sitting before God and pouring my words out on the page helps me to look back on His faithfulness and to work through the many thoughts rumbling around in my mind.

To read David’s prayer seated before God see 2 Samuel 7:18-29.

Standing:

Often prayers in this position involve praising God. When we sing worship songs with others, they are simply prayers set to music. This can be a powerful position for lifting our hands to honor the One True God. Standing shoulder to shoulder with others to worship God builds unity and strengthens a community of faith.

For biblical examples of people standing to pray, check out Solomon (1 Kings 8), and the Pharisee & Tax Collector (Luke 18).

I got to witness a variety of prayer postures during a recent youth group houseboat trip to Lake Shasta. It was a privilege to join forty other adults leading 260 high school students. Many students made first time commitments to Christ and a number of others grew deeper in their relationships with Him.

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Each morning the group would gather on the beach to sing worship songs and then scatter for personal devotions. All around the beach people stood, sat, crouched and knelt before God in prayer. As I sat in my folding chair facing the water with my journal and Bible on my lap, I was overwhelmed with gratitude realizing that every person on that beach had direct access to God at exactly the same time. We’re called to “vie fiercely in prayer” but we never have to vie for God’s attention. He is ready and waiting to hear from us in whatever posture we choose any time we seek Him.

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On our final day at Lake Shasta, the worship team invited us to stay scattered on the beach as we sang a closing song. It was a powerful experience transitioning from personal time with God to worshipping Him with others. Click on the link for your own “worship moment” to hear the song we sang, “Fall Afresh” by Bethel Music featuring Jeremy Riddle.

Advance!

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Last week I had my first experience seeing Beth Moore teach in person at a Living Proof Live event in Stockton, CA. I was impressed as she described praying that God would give her a specific word for our group of 5000 that weekend. God delivered some powerful answers to her prayers and used her to inspire the crowd in mighty ways.

Her theme for the weekend was “Advance!” based on this verse: “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters,that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.” (Philippians 1:12)

She admonished us to advance in the gospel personally so that we could advance the gospel in the lives of others. Using the acrostic “A-D-V-A-N-C-E” she led us through a series of key points to make Paul’s message in Philippians applicable to our lives today. I always absorb information more thoroughly by taking notes and reviewing them. I’ll be using my next few posts to share the key points from her three talks and then I’ll add my own thoughts about them.

Here are the first two parts of the acrostic:

A- A Kingdom is Coming.

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”   (Matthew 24:14)

God’s kingdom is a present reality and a future reality. When we share the gospel, we participate in spreading His kingdom on earth.   To advance the gospel, we must know God’s word and then pray for open doors to share it with others. Whether we have the gift of evangelism or not, this is part of our call as followers of Christ.

Every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we ask God to further His kingdom when we say: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,your kingdom come, 
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10) Asking for God’s will to be done on earth allows us to claim territory for Him. As hearts and minds surrender to Christ, we advance His Kingdom and the world around us changes for the better. We also add to the ranks of the souls who will celebrate in God’s forever kingdom.

Furthering the kingdom is about living out the gospel first with our deeds and then with our words. When our actions toward others align with God’s will and word, we bless them and spread His kingdom. Mother Teresa said it well: “Spread the love of God through your life but only use words when necessary.”

D- Dare to Advance It

The Greek word for “advance” is “prokopen” which Beth explains as “to beat or drive forward as if with repeated strokes, hence to go forward or further, make progress, proceed.” She connected this to the example of clearing dense brush in a jungle using a machete. Similarly, we use the sword of the Spirit to hack through the darkness to advance the Kingdom of God. “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17)

If we don’t advance in our knowledge of the word of God, we won’t understand the access we have to God’s incredible power. Without these things, we can’t further God’s kingdom. Bible study doesn’t sound quite so tame when it’s described like that.

Don’t let all this talk about hacking through darkness scare you! Spreading God’s kingdom isn’t about hitting people over the head with a Bible. It’s about loving them. Here are few ideas for advancing the kingdom:

-Show compassion to a hurting world

-Give mercy instead of judging people

-Be honest about your own sin and brokenness with God and others

-Forgive people when they don’t deserve it

-Allow time in your day to be interrupted, to listen, to show kindness

-Say “no” to selfishness and self-absorption

None of these things can be done on your own strength. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and equip you, then advance!

Every time I hear Jason Gray’s song “With Every Act of Love” it inspires me to further the kingdom of God on earth.   It makes me realize simple acts of love lead others to want to know Him. This is how we advance the gospel.

Click on the link to hear “With Every Act of Love.”

**Special thanks to my son for creating the scene of the advancing Lego army for this week’s photo.

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Grappling with Change

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The end of the school year always makes me nostalgic and a bit wistful. This year was especially poignant as we had three nephews and two nieces graduate from high school or college.   As I sat in the audience during one niece’s graduation ceremony, scenes flashed through my mind of the eighteen previous years, starting with the day she was born. It’s hard to believe she’s grown and about to leave for college in a few months. I know I’m getting older every day, but those milestone moments drive it home with extra impact.

Change is a part of life, but sometimes I don’t like it very much.   Kids grow up, friendships change, and communities evolve. All of this is normal, but sometimes it creates an ache in me that spirals to a place of deep longing.   If I’m not careful, I can wallow in my sadness and lose sight of the truth.

Life is constantly changing and there is nothing I can do to stop it. However, there is a greater Truth that gives me hope in spite of this:

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8).

No matter what changes this life may bring, God is always the same. He is our Solid Rock and the firm foundation on which we stand. Our circumstances may change, our relationships may ebb and flow, our health may fail us, but God will never leave us or forsake us.

“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” (Psalm 62:1-2)

There is an old hymn that has been a favorite of mine for many years called “The Solid Rock” by Edward Mote.

 My hope is built on nothing less


Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;


I dare not trust the sweetest frame,


But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

 When darkness veils His lovely face,


I rest on His unchanging grace;

In every high and stormy gale,


My anchor holds within the veil.

 His oath, His covenant, His blood


Support me in the whelming flood;


When all around my soul gives way,


He then is all my hope and stay.

 When He shall come with trumpet sound,


Oh, may I then in Him be found;


Dressed in His righteousness alone,


Faultless to stand before the throne.

 Refrain: 


On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;


All other ground is sinking sand,


All other ground is sinking sand.

It’s based on Jesus’s teaching in Matthew 7:24-26.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

If we want Jesus to be our firm foundation, then we need to read His word and put it into practice. As we pursue Him, He’ll continue to shape our characters and refine our perspectives. Although I don’t like change, this is transformation I want. This is change I need.

Jesus is the Solid Rock to which we cling in this world of shifting sand. Having a firm foundation beneath our feet gives us hope and courage to press on. We can be reassured and filled with confidence knowing God never changes.  How could we ever keep this amazing hope to ourselves when there is a world that desperately needs to hear Truth?

Click on the link to hear a newer interpretation of “The Solid Rock.” Hillsong sings this recent version called “Cornerstone.” (The title comes from Isaiah 28:16 and 2 Peter 2:6 depicts Jesus as our Cornerstone– the most important stone in a structure which determines the design and orientation of the entire building. Noted in the Zondervan Study Bible).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEhSk7bfbK8

Press On

IMG_1078It’s okay to stop and enjoy the view, but don’t linger too long on the trail without moving forward.

My muscles burned as I hiked up the steep incline toward the Las Trampas ridgeline. Orange California Poppies and yellow wildflowers dotted the grass that covered the rolling hills surrounding me. Turning to admire the view of the valley below, I put my hands on my hips and breathed deeply. The friends walking beside me caught their breath and marveled at the elevation we’d gained in such a short period of time.

The women I hiked with had spent the last seven months together delving into the Bible weekly in a group called “FaithWalk.” We’d chosen the name because we were all on a spiritual journey moving ever closer to God. Although we were at different places in our walks with Him, all of us had a desire to move forward.

As our months of formal study came to an end, we decided to take our “FaithWalk” out of the living room and onto the hiking trail. Exerting some energy, getting to higher ground and stopping to take in the view gave us a whole new perspective on life. This was true for us physically on the trail as much as it was spiritually when we’d studied Scripture together.

What we experienced is true of anyone who has been involved in a Bible study. In the past year we’ve made significant spiritual strides, whether it was in FaithWalk, Focused Living or somewhere else. Studying the truth revealed in God’s Word has deepened our wisdom and encouraged our faith.   Significant connections have been made with others and we’ve grown in our prayer lives. We’ve traveled to higher ground and have discovered a new perspective.

Now we are moving into that “limbo” time of year when formal Bible studies end and summer classes are still a long way from starting.   After gathering with others to study the Bible consistently, we’re now left to our own initiative to keep growing spiritually. It’s a little like hiking to the top of the ridge and then having our companions scatter in different directions. If it’s our first time up the trail, it can be especially disconcerting because we’re not sure where to turn next.

For many of us, this becomes a season when we slack off in pursuing God. Our faith that burned so brightly cools to flickering embers. Maybe we stop reading our Bibles because we don’t have a study to direct us or we forgo gathering with fellow believers because our weekly meetings have ended. Perhaps we even cease praying as apathy creeps in slowly.

This doesn’t have to be our reality, however. God never clocks out; He never has an end of the year brunch and then retreats from us until the fall. He doesn’t put His Word on a shelf next to the other books He’s studied.   Likewise, we can continue pursuing Him without being tied to the parameters of a formal Bible study. Instead of getting lulled into complacency, we can persevere by keeping our focus on Jesus.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” (Hebrews 12:1-2a)

Instead of seeing the end of a formal Bible study as a time of spiritual slackening, we can view it as a time to draw nearer to God. We can dig deeper into the things that we didn’t have time to pursue during the year. It’s a chance to spend unstructured time getting to know Him personally. If you need some help figuring out how to do this, I’ve included few ideas below. Hopefully they’ll help keep you engaged with Jesus and His Word instead of wandering in the wilderness:

-If you were involved in a book study this year, chances are there was at least a lesson or two that you didn’t fully complete. Go back, re-read and finish the lessons and look at how they fit into the context of the whole study.   Then do the next suggestion below.

-If you finished all your studies, go back through them and make lists highlighting the things you learned. Get a journal and make it the place where you record specific quotes, words of wisdom and verses that made an impact on you. Continue to add to it with each new study you do.

-Choose a Christian book or personal Bible study to go through daily. Better yet, invite a friend or a small group of people to join you. Find a time to meet together weekly to discuss it. This is a great way to stay accountable. Here are few places to shop for books:

http://www.p31bookstore.com

http://www.lifeway.com/n/Books-&-Magazines

www.christianbook.com

CPC’s Community Book Shoppe (for those who are local)

CPC Library (for those who are local)

-Ask someone to be your prayer partner. Share requests and pray that both of you can stay engaged in God’s Word. Meet together, e-mail, text or talk on the phone regularly to stay connected.

-Continue to check in with this Life in Focus blog for spiritual encouragement. I’ll be posting throughout the summer. If you don’t follow the blog yet, click on the “follow” icon on the right side of the screen so you’ll be notified each time I post something new.

-Subscribe to an online study or devotional. Check out these options:

http://www.faithgateway.com/topics/devotionals/

-Subscribe to a Christian magazine.   Check out these options:

“Homelife” Magazine (Lifeway)

“Today’s Christian Woman” Magazine

-Add some variety to your time with God by listening to Christian music, writing prayers in a journal or taking prayer walks outside regularly. Branch out and be creative!

Whatever you choose will help you continue growing in your walk with Jesus. It’s okay to stop and enjoy the view, but don’t linger too long on the trail without moving forward.

“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13b-14)

What are your plans to stay connected with God and His Word once Bible study ends? How will “pressing on’ look in your daily life? Do you have books, studies or ideas to suggest? Leave a comment to inspire others!

For further inspiration, click on the link below to hear the song “Press On” by Building 429,featuring Blanca Callahan.

 

 

Breaking the Cycle

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I recently returned from a trip to Disney’s California Resort with my family.   We had a fantastic time together going on rides, watching shows, eating treats and reminiscing about previous trips there.  I love Disneyland, even if it is just the tiniest bit over-stimulating for me.

The only part I don’t like is this little issue I have with motion sickness (and I’m slightly in denial about it).  Posted outside each thrill ride is a very clear warning listing all of the horrible things that could happen to people subjecting themselves to it.  The signs clearly state that motion sickness will be “aggravated” by the rides.  Every time I strapped myself in, I knew what the consequence would be, but I didn’t want to miss out on having fun with my family.

After one ride full of steep climbs, sudden drops, sharp turns and upside down loops, I decided to take a break.  I needed to let my stomach and head find their equilibrium again.  I waved happily from a bench as my husband and kids headed back for another round.  After I’d recovered a few hours later, I got in line with them for yet another roller coaster and walked past yet another warning sign.

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My stomach had finally settled, but I didn’t want to miss out on being with them.  The familiar queasiness returned as soon as we made the first high-speed turn.  At the end of the ride my upset stomach told me it was finished with thrills for the day.  I listened to my body and steered clear of roller coasters after that.

Surprisingly, my little adventure with the roller coasters has a few parallels with Nehemiah chapter 9.  Like me, the Israelites were given clear warnings, but they failed to heed them and doomed themselves to repeat the same “roller coaster ride” for much of their history.  In Nehemiah 9, the Israelites prayed and reviewed the pattern of their people, starting with Abraham.  They recognized the cycle that their ancestors followed from one generation to the next:

1) Receive God’s Blessing and Faithfulness

2) Rebel/ Fall Away / Face Hardship

3) Receive God’s Discipline and Repent

4) Reconcile with God/ Receive God’s Blessing

The people of Nehemiah’s time saw how they continued the cycle and realized God’s faithfulness in spite of their faithlessness.  They confessed to God and sought His help:

“In all that has happened to us, you have remained righteous; you have acted faithfully, while we acted wickedly. Our kings, our leaders, our priests and our ancestors did not follow your law; they did not pay attention to your commands or the statutes you warned them to keep. Even while they were in their kingdom, enjoying your great goodness to them in the spacious and fertile land you gave them, they did not serve you or turn from their evil ways. But see, we are slaves today, slaves in the land you gave our ancestors so they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces. Because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us. They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress.”  (Nehemiah 9:33-37)

The people were in “phase three” of their usual cycle and trying to move to “phase four” from my list above.  Sadly, this would not be the last time the pattern would repeat.  Among the many lessons we can learn from the Israelites, two stand out to me.  First, they didn’t deal well with difficulty.  Second, they didn’t remember God in their times of ease.

Dealing with Difficulty

Kelly Minter explains:  “whenever the Israelites faced difficulty in the desert they chose to believe something false about God.  Three of the biggies were that He had abandoned them, withheld from them, or wouldn’t meet their needs.”  (Nehemiah:  A Heart That Can Break p. 125).

Like the Israelites, we can make big mistakes when we view difficulties as unusual or when we expect to be spared from them.  Hard things happen, but God is still good.  In fact, He often uses hardships to refine our faith and draw us closer to Him.  Jesus said it clearly,  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  (John 16:33)

When we have established in our hearts and minds that God is good then the difficulties we face cause us to rely on Him instead of questioning Him.  Similarly, when we believe God is sovereign, we trust Him to handle the injustices we experience.  Even when we don’t understand the trials we face, we know He’ll use them mature us and refine our faith.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”  (1 Peter 1:3-9)

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  (James 1:2-4)

Forgetting God in Times of Ease

Nehemiah 9:35 explains that even when the people were enjoying God’s “great goodness” and the “spacious and fertile land,” they failed to acknowledge Him.

Sometimes it is harder to remember to focus on God when life is easy and things are going well.  We get lulled into thinking that the ease of our circumstances is our “new normal” or that we’ve done something right to deserve it.  We can become complacent, apathetic and spiritually lazy.  Our circumstantial peace should allow us time to study God’s word, grow with Him and serve Him.  Yet sometimes when circumstances are smooth, we tend stray away and give our time and attention to other things.  We take God’s goodness for granted and forget to use His blessings to benefit others and honor Him.

Jesus makes a strong point about this in the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25.  In His story, a wealthy landowner calls his servants to him before leaving on a long journey.  To each he gives a sum of money called a “talent.”   Each one receives an amount “according to his ability.” To the first, he gives five talents, to the second two and to the last, one.

When the landowner returns, he discovers that the first and second servants have invested the talents wisely and have doubled their amounts.   The landowner praises each of them similarly:  “Well done, good and faithful servant!  You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share your master’s happiness.”  (John 25:21).

The third servant has only the original one talent to return to his master.  Instead of investing it, he simply dug a hole and hid it, fearing his master.

“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?  Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

“‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.’ “ (Matthew 25:26-29)

The servant given the smallest load to bear failed miserably.  My Bible’s study notes put it this way:  “The talents represent any kind of resource we are given.  God gives us time, gifts, and other resources according to our abilities, and he expects us to invest them wisely until he returns.  We are responsible to use well what God has given us.  The issue is not how much we have, but how well we use what we have.”  (Zondervan Life Application Bible 1991)

When life is going smoothly, it is the time to use our health, wealth, skills, experience, education and spiritual gifts to bless others and honor God.  It is not the time to coast and live a life of ease and comfort, but a time to stretch, grow and help further the Kingdom of God.

Let’s choose not to be like the Israelites, continually cycling through obedience, rebellion, discipline and repentance.    Getting caught in a pattern like that consumes energy without producing growth or maturity.

It’s a bit like my roller coaster experience.  I knew what rides might make me sick, but I went on a few anyway hoping for a different outcome.   I quickly realized that not heeding the posted warnings would ruin my day.   My body was telling me to stop and if I ignored it, I would have been too sick to enjoy the day at all.  I had to break the cycle.  Once I did, my stomach settled and I had a great time instead of muscling through more hours of nausea.

If you find yourself stuck in your own version of “the cycle,” be encouraged.  You are not the only one!  When you’re headed for that roller coaster you know you shouldn’t be riding, pray and ask God to help you step out of line.  Click on the link below to hear Josh Wilson’s song “Know By Now.”  It will remind you of God’s sovereignty, faithfulness and patience with us in spite of our failings.

God’s Word for Every Generation

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My husband’s parents gave him a precious gift this past Christmas.  It is a family Bible that has been passed down through four generations.  A hand-written note tucked in the front of this fourteen-pound, four-and-a-half inch thick heirloom states that his great-grandfather would pay $25.00 for the Bible.  It is dated March 22, 1886.  Twenty-five dollars in 1886 equates to $629 today.  That is a substantial investment for a Bible.  It’s a blessing to belong to a family that has valued the Word of God for so many generations.

The book of Nehemiah describes a similar value for the Word of God.  Nehemiah and the Israelites finished rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem in an incredible fifty-two days after it laid in ruins for nearly a century and a half.  Once it was completed and the exiles had returned to the city, they tended to some important business.

First on the agenda was gathering the people to read from the Book of the Law of Moses.  This was the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament.  Nehemiah chapter 8 tells us the men, women and children stood before the priest, Ezra, as he read aloud “from daybreak till noon…And all the people listened attentively”  (8:3).

Did you catch that? Men, women and children stood and listened for five or six hours while God’s Word was read aloud to them.  At the conclusion “Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, ‘Amen!’ Amen!’” (8:6).

I looked up the definition of “Amen” in my Webster’s Dictionary.  It is a Hebrew word “used to express solemn ratification or hearty approval.”  This is amazing considering that “all the people had been weeping as they listened to the word of the Law”  (8:9b).  Instead of being defensive or indignant when they learned how far they had strayed from God’s Word, their hearts broke with remorse.  They didn’t try to make excuses or rationalize their failure to follow it, they sought to make things right.  How refreshing that response seems in comparison with people who want to ignore the parts of the Bible they find convicting, inconvenient or outdated.

Kelly Minter describes the Israelite listeners this way:  “The Lord had given His Word to them, and it was far from obsolete or impractical to their daily lives…The people were deeply aware that they were to live every moment of their lives by God’s words…they recognized that ordinary life was to be inspired and directed by the rule and reign of God”  (Nehemiah:  A Heart That Can Break, p.103).

What was true for the Israelites returning to Jerusalem is still true for us today.  We need God’s Word to inform our lives and the choices we make daily.  We need to trust that His Word is a lamp for our feet and a light for our paths, as Psalm 119:105 describes it.

The Bible is not a list of rules to read once and then put on the shelf as a reference book. “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart”  (Hebrews 4:12).  The Bible is not just words on a page; it is living and active.  When we engage it and apply it to our lives, it changes us.  It changes our attitudes, our desires, our relationships and the things we value.   It is a guide for every aspect of daily living.  It is our solid foundation and the plumb line that keeps us aligned with Truth.

I’ve begun to notice a clear difference between the lives of people who are actively engaging God’s Word and people who simply embrace the Christian lifestyle and its values.  People who spend time in the Bible have a passion and a sense of purpose in what they do.  They serve others out of gratitude to God, not as an obligation.  They grapple with hard truths and have teachable spirits.  They are hungry to know more about God and how He’s calling them to live.  They don’t follow rules and checklists–they abide with Jesus and let the Holy Spirit guide them.  Their lives are not safe and predictable.  They trust God when things get messy and complicated.  They have too much integrity to worry about whether or not they are “showing well.”  They are profoundly aware that they are sinners only saved by Gods’ grace.  Their resulting gratitude causes them to give their lives for God’s Kingdom purposes.

For the Israelites in Nehemiah’s time, living out the Word of God meant they began observing festivals that had been forgotten for many years.  “They found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in booths during the feast”  (8:14).  They were obeying God’s command to celebrate the Lord’s Feast of Tabernacles.  While it might not have been convenient to build and live in temporary shelters for seven days, the purpose of the feast was to remind the people in each generation that God brought them out of Egypt.  (You can read the specifics in Leviticus 23:40-43).

God knows people are prone to forget Him, so observing different festivals provided tangible reminders of His faithfulness at regular intervals.  Maybe part of the reason the people wept when they heard Ezra read the law is that they realized the many blessings they’d missed.  The generations before them had failed to obey God’s command given through Moses:

“These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:1-8).

Today we are not exempt from this command to marinate in God’s Word and impress it upon the younger generations.  Whether we are parents, grandparents, or have never had kids, there are younger people around who need to know the Word of God.  We can do this as youth leaders, Sunday school teachers, or volunteers in the nursery.  We can be a safe haven for kids in our neighborhoods or godly volunteers in public or Christian schools.   We can mentor at-risk kids or lead at Vacation Bible School.  We can open our homes to foster children or even adopt a child.  We can sponsor kids through Missions organizations and send them letters reminding them of God’s love, faithfulness and provision.

Impressing God’s Word on children starts first and foremost at home.  Here are some ideas for incorporating Biblical influence into your home, for the sake of your own kids and any others that might walk through the door.

-Listen to Christ-centered stories in the car and at home instead of only watching shows or playing video games.  Focus on the Family has great radio dramas such as “Adventures in Odyssey.” The Vision Forum also has Biblically-based audio dramas such as “The Adventures of Jonathan Park.”

-Listen to Christian music at home and in the car (Try KLOVE, which is nation wide on FM radio, or The Message on satellite radio)

-Try having family meetings weekly.  Use the time to read through a portion of the Bible, share prayer requests and pray together as a family.

-Read a devotional with your kids as they eat breakfast in the morning or at night before bed (the student version of Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling is a current favorite for us)

-Read Christian-themed books aloud to your kids or encourage them to read them to themselves.  Janet and Geoff Benge have a great series of biographies called “Christian Heroes:  Then & Now” (Christian books and magazine subscriptions are  great gifts in an Easter basket for any age)

-Invite some friends to do a Christian parenting study with you  (Chip Ingram’s DVD series “Effective Parenting in Defective World” is a great place to start)

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the suggestions above, take a deep breath.  Resist the urge to feel like you have to do them all.  Stop before you start to feel inadequate or critical of yourself.  Don’t let yourself get legalistic by creating a checklist to complete.  Start by praying and asking God to reveal one area where you can influence your own kids or others with God’s Word.   Whatever you do, make sure it is authentic and done with pure motives.  If you have a spouse, talk it over before jumping to action.  Incorporating these things into your life might stretch you but they should still align with your character and not be forced on your family in a way that will turn them off.  Pray for their hearts before you announce implementation of a great new plan to get them into God’s Word more!  Do what blesses you and your family, not what feels like a burden.  If you’re already actively doing something that impacts kids with the Bible, please post a comment to give other readers ideas.

Click on the link below to hear Matt Maher’s catchy song “And All the People Said Amen.”  Although it’s inspired by 1 Chronicles 16:36, the sentiment is quite similar to Nehemiah 8.

“City Gates, Soul Gates”


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In the Northern California climate, bare root roses are usually planted in January.  My husband and I moved into our house a number of years ago in mid-February.  So, for close to a year I eagerly anticipated the time when we could finally start our very own rose garden.  We went to a nursery and studied labels, carefully choosing the colors and varieties we wanted to plant along the side of our driveway in the front yard.

It was hard work digging holes and planting in the winter soil, but it was worth the effort when we envisioned the beautiful roses that would bloom a few months later.  We’d chosen colors in a variety of shades:  pink, yellow, white, red, coral and lavender.   They had names like “Mr. Lincoln” and “Touch of Class” embossed on metal tags hanging around the main stalks of the plants.  We kept them attached even after planting so we could remember their names later.

As winter turned to spring, green shoots and fat buds began to appear on our new rose plants.  I’d check them regularly– excited to see which colors would show first.   Then, one morning, I discovered all of the buds were gone.  It looked almost as if someone had come into our yard and snipped them off with a pair of clippers.  I was perplexed, angry and disappointed.  I couldn’t imagine who would have done such a thing.

Later that evening, as the sun was setting, a family of dear gracefully wandered into our yard.  As I moved to the window to watch them, I was horrified to discover they were brazenly snacking on my rose plants.  What had looked like a clean cut from a pair of garden shears had actually been the teeth of several deer.

When I went back to the nursery where we’d bought the roses to explain our predicament, the employee there was less than sympathetic:  “Yea, deer eat just about anything.  They don’t care about thorns.  I can sell you some stuff to spray on the flowers to make them taste bad, but you have to use it all the time.  Those deer are pretty tenacious.”

I bought the spray and tried it for a while, but finally gave up.  It smelled bad and the deer ate the blooms anyway.  For several years, we just relinquished any hope of ever seeing a bud, let alone a fully blooming rose.  I couldn’t even remember what color flowers we’d planted and had only the metal tags to remind me.

Finally, one winter we decided to risk uprooting our rose bushes and re-planting them in the backyard.  It would either kill them or give them a new lease on life.  We hoped they would survive the transplant and would thrive safely tucked behind our high fence where deer couldn’t get at them.  Sure enough, that spring, we began to see buds forming.  Eventually after years of waiting to see roses, our backyard was filled with blooms in a multitude of colors.  I could enjoy them from the window or clip them to put in vases or give them to friends.  All it took was guarding the roses from the hungry deer that devoured them.

Those roses were one of the first things I pictured as I read Kelly Minter’s words in the week 2 lesson of Nehemiah:  A Heart That Can Break.  Until I fenced them in for protection, they never reached their full blooming potential.  In the study, Minter describes how Nehemiah and his fellow Jews focused their attention on rebuilding the gates around the walls of Jerusalem.  She explains:  “Little is as important to a city as guarding the places where people come and go.  Jerusalem’s walls meant nothing without fortified gates—every door, bolt, and bar had to be scrutinized and secured.  This led me to think about the ‘gates’ in my life, what I allow to enter my seeing and hearing…The question became, ‘What am I allowing in and out?’  Have you ever wondered if ‘mindless entertainment’ might actually be a wide-open gate in your life by which many hurtful and deceiving ideas are sliding straight into your thinking?  What about the friendships you keep, the magazines you read, the conversations in which you choose to engage?  Are your doors open to uplifting, truth-telling and life-giving, or to what corrodes your soul?”  (p. 43).

If we’re not on our guards, the good things in our lives can be infiltrated and ruined by the enemy, just like my roses.  Proverbs 4:23 says it clearly:  “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”  I started thinking about the times in my life when I’ve let my guard down and have allowed my heart to be influenced in ways that are not beneficial to my walk with God.  See if you can relate to any of the areas below where your “soul gates” might need a bit of shoring up:

Entertainment

Kelly Minter mentioned in her video how people often excuse inappropriate subject matter because it is funny.  She pointed out that even sin can seem funny but that “if it put Jesus on the cross, it’s not funny.”  I started thinking about all the ways we can be entertained that have the potential to leave our “soul gates” wide open to ungodly influences.

-TV Shows and Movies: Often they subtly or blatantly give messages contrary to God’s teaching.  I think about this in relation to my kids and ask myself how their worldview might be shaped by what they’re seeing.  When we come across something that doesn’t fit with God’s word, we talk about it and point out the message that is contrary to God’s plans for us.    Talk shows and reality shows espouse unbiblical worldviews as much as dramas and sitcoms, so it’s important to consider them too.

-Music:  Song lyrics spout messages constantly.  I have one child who particularly enjoys listening to “hit music” on the radio.  Many of the songs are catchy and fun, but it’s important to listen to the message behind the beat.  Recently my son and I had a conversation about a song with the recurring line:  “Are you gonna stay the night/ Doesn’t mean we’re bound for life.”  He was a little annoyed and embarrassed when we talked about how the song’s message didn’t fit with God’s design for sex, but he listened and accepted what I said.  Now, when the song comes on we can joke about it and roll our eyes, realizing the not so subtle message it gives.  Sometimes my boys and I look up song lyrics online to clarify or discuss the content.  We can’t keep our kids or ourselves entirely in a bubble, but we can learn to recognize the way the world influences us so we don’t fall for it.

-Books:  We need to be wise about the non-fiction and fiction books we read.  Even those fun “beach reads” have an impact on our thought lives, for better or for worse.  Our imaginations have few limits and when they’re fed ideas that don’t fit with God’s plan, we are opening our “soul gates” unwisely.

-Websites/ Chat rooms/ Blogs:  The places we frequent on the Internet also impact our thought lives significantly and can lead to a breakdown in the walls around our souls.  Are you considering that with the content you absorb online?

-Magazines:  How are the articles you read influencing you?  Do the magazines you read make you wish for bigger and better material possessions?  Do they turn the personal lives of strangers into scintillating gossip?  Do they tempt you to eat and drink in ways that you’ll regret later?  Do they influence your worldview in ways that draw you closer to God or that pull you farther away from Him?

-Talk Radio:  Talk radio can fill our minds with ideas.  Do the people you listen to on the radio continually espouse specific views and label groups of people?  Do they vilify certain people or groups?  This happens easily on talk shows centered on politics.  Keep in mind, whether you agree with someone’s political views or not, they are still loved by God.  Sometimes when we draw political lines in the sand, it’s hard to reach out in love to people whose labels don’t match the ones with which we agree.

-E-mail forwards:  Do you think carefully before you forward “thought provoking” or “funny” e-mails to friends and family?  Do you think about how they have influenced you and how they might influence others?  Do you check to see if information you are forwarding is factual?  Do you think about whether the recipients need more e-mails in their inboxes?

The links below provide resources for reviewing movies, TV shows and other media.  They are a great way to screen in advance what you plan to watch or to let your kids watch.  The first is from Focus on the Family, the second is from Common Sense Media:

Home

A good guideline to keep in mind for entertainment is to think of Philippians 4:8

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Relationships

The people we spend time with influence us profoundly.  Here are a few questions to think about how they might be influencing you in different ways:

-Do the people you spend time with point you towards God or away from Him?

-Are your peers positive and encouraging or negative and bitter?

-The Bible calls us to be salt and light to a world in darkness—are you rubbing off on your non-Christian friends and acquaintances or are they rubbing off on you?

-If you’re married:  Do the people you spend time with make your marriage stronger? Do your friends know more about the highs and lows of your marriage than your spouse?  What parameters do you place around your interactions with the opposite sex? (Sometimes we may think we’ve been married too long for these things to be issues-yet our culture is full of marriages that crumble even after twenty, thirty or forty years.  We must be relentless in protecting our marriages at every stage in life.)

-Do you seek out friends to provide support and wisdom before you ever consider seeking God?  Kelly Minter cautions:  “Even well-meaning people can unintentionally draw us away from God’s will in our lives” (p.58).

-Do you spend time with people who take pleasure in being critical of others?

-How easy is it to get drawn into gossip in your circle of friends and acquaintances?

-Does the sarcasm and cynicism of others rub off on you?

-Do you spend time with people who expect you to “show well” and put up a façade?

-Do you downplay your faith around certain friends and acquaintances?

Colossians 3:1-17 provides some great instructions for relationships:

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.  Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

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There are a lot of challenging issues to think and pray about in the paragraphs above.  If you’re feeling convicted, just keep this in mind:  the goal of these questions isn’t to make you feel guilty, but to help you find the places where your “soul gates” need strengthening.  Strong gates allow your spiritual garden to flourish and give God room to develop your potential.  Ask the Holy Spirit to keep your soul gates strong.  Let Him monitor what comes and goes through them.   You may not realize the ways you can bloom spiritually until you notice what is coming through your “soul gates” and guard against the things that will damage your walk with God.   I didn’t realize the beauty I was missing until we took the time to move our roses.  It was worth the effort.

Roses

For some additional perspective on this topic, click on the link below to hear Casting Crowns’ song “Slow Fade.”  It’s a great reminder for why keeping your “soul gates” intact is so important.

Depositing God’s Truth in Your Spiritual Bank

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Recently at our Focused Living Bible Study we had the privilege of hearing from three women in three different life stages.  They all shared specifics about how they’ve seen God take them “Deeper Still” in their relationships with Him.   All three had fantastic messages to share and we were blessed by their authenticity and candor.   It just so happens that the last woman to share was my mom.  During her talk she highlighted how much she values studying the Bible to keep aligned with God’s truth.  She told us that she started formally studying the Bible in 1974 and has continued ever since in a variety of different classes and groups.  My mom admonished us to see studying God’s word as an opportunity to make deposits in our “spiritual banks,” pointing out that truths we learn now can sustain us in the years to come.  Isaiah 55:10-11 says pretty much the same thing:

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return to it without watering the earth 
and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth:  It will not return to me empty,
 but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Our Bible study is wrapping up another challenging and inspiring study, but before I add my workbook from Faithful, Abundant, True:  Three Lives Going Deeper Still to the growing collection on my shelf, I’d like to reflect on what I’ve learned.  Spending time looking back is an opportunity to make a deposit in our “spiritual banks.”  Writing down the truths we’ve learned will bless us in the years to come and imprint them more deeply into our memories. 

Truths Taught by Kay Arthur

-Don’t Shrink Back

Kay taught us about God’s faithfulness and encouraged us to make time for God’s word and to keep from entangling ourselves in the affairs of the world.  Referring often to the book of Hebrews, she reminded us not to “shrink back” and to continue growing deeper with God.

Hebrews 10:35-39  “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.  You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For, ‘In just a little while, he who is coming will come
 and will not delay.’  And, ‘But my righteous one will live by faith.  And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.’  But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.”

-Handle God’s Word Correctly

Kay reminded us of the value of God’s word and the importance of learning to use and handle it correctly.  She pointed out that studying the Bible is not just about getting us through our issues, but changing us from the inside out.

2 Timothy 2:15  “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17  “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

-Abandon Unbelief to Find the Rest of Faith

Kay also taught is that having faith means resting in the word of God.  We cannot have the rest of faith if we have unbelief in our lives.  If we truly believe God can do what He says, then we will trust Him and find rest, unlike the Israelites who doomed themselves to wandering in the desert for forty years because of their unbelief.

Hebrews 3:16-19 & 4:1-2  “Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.  Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.”

Truths Taught By Priscilla Shirer

-God Is Able

Priscilla Shirer showed us that God is able to surprise us in the midst of our impossible situations.  She encouraged us to remember that knowing Who we’re dealing with changes the way we pray.  When we pray, we can be confident knowing God has the power to do what we ask.  She also encouraged us to pray: “God, do this, or do something better!”

Ephesians 3:20-21  “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

-An Abundant Life is Not Free of Difficulty

Priscilla reminded us that God’s abundance is not about experiencing peace because of our circumstances, but in spite of them.  We can experience the fullness of God even in the midst of our impossible situations.  He is the only dependable constant in our lives in a world that is ever changing.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10  “Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

-Don’t Just Learn About God; Believe His Word is True for You Personally

Priscilla pointed out the importance of translating the head knowledge we gain from studying God’s word into heart knowledge that causes true life-transformation.

Hebrews 12:1-2  “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Truths Taught By Beth Moore

-We Must Activate the Mind of Christ

Beth emphasized that anyone who accepts Christ has the ability to have the mind of Christ.    She says,  “Our challenge is to learn how to activate His mind in our thought processes regarding the reality of our experience.” (p.108)

1 Corinthians 2:15-16  “The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for,  ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’  But we have the mind of Christ.”

-Discernment Doesn’t Happen By Accident

When the Holy Spirit resides within us, we possess the potential for great discernment, but it is like a muscle that must be exercised to grow stronger.  We grow in our discernment through “prayer, pursuit and practice.”  (110)

Hebrews 5:13-14  “Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

-God’s Spirit Fills Us to the Extent We are Willing to Yield

God will only take us as far as we are willing to let Him go on our spiritual journeys.  Without obedience to Him, we prevent ongoing growth from occurring.

John 14:15-16  “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

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That is quite a bit of truth to absorb in six weeks of study!  I feel like I just made a huge deposit in my “spiritual bank.”  How about you?  What truths do you want to savor and remember before you move on to the next study?  If you’re not attender of Focused Living, what things are you learning right now that you want to remember later?  Make a comment below and share with us (click on “leave a comment” at the top of this post and the comment field will appear at the bottom of the post).  You can also make a comment on Facebook if you prefer.

I’ll close by making Paul’s prayer for the Philippians in 1:9-11 my prayer for you:

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” 

Click on the blue sign below that says “Watch Vimeo”  to see the “Deeper Still” testimonies of the three women at Focused Living.

Boosting Your Spiritual Metabolism

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October, November and December are months filled with celebrations in my family.  It seems we’re continually enjoying birthday dinners, Halloween candy, Thanksgiving delicacies and Christmas treats at a fairly steady pace for a long stretch of time.   Although we generally try to eat healthy food, it seems there is always an excuse for a “splurge” during those months.  This December, my husband and I realized that our “fun splurges” were becoming a regular part of our diet.  By the end of the Christmas holidays, we were both feeling the effects of too many months of making bad choices with food.  It was time for a change.

My meal planning and cooking had been on autopilot for quite a while.  I’d chalked it up to a busy schedule, but the truth was, I was getting pretty lazy. We were eating the same four or five meals all the time and making things interesting by eating plenty of unhealthy snacks and desserts in between.  We didn’t feel good physically and often criticized ourselves for the bad food choices we were making.  Then, we’d do the same thing again the next day.

Driving home from a visit with family over the holidays, I began perusing a book that outlined a twenty-eight day plan for eating healthy, cleansing our bodies and rebooting our metabolisms.  It sounded a bit daunting, but after some serious thought, we decided the health benefits were worth the effort.

To implement this plan required full buy-in for both of us.  We had to commit to following all of the guidelines of the plan for twenty-eight days.  There was no way to eat on autopilot anymore.  I was checking our book so much that the pages were dotted with splotches of food from reading recipes while I cooked. I had to write meal plans for the week in a spiral notebook and check it frequently.  My husband would regularly ask, “Is this in the plan?”  I’d grab the book to check, not trusting my memory to guide me.

Having to think about meals so much required more effort than our old ways of interacting with food.  We had to be intentional in planning menus, preparing ahead and anticipating possible challenges along the way.  However, we were also seeing the benefits of the plan and were feeling great.  I’d never given so much thought to what, when and how I was eating until then- but my metabolism seemed to be responding well.

I realized a striking similarity between our new eating plan and our spiritual lives.  We can’t go on autopilot.  We can’t just check off our thirty minutes reading the Bible and praying in the morning and then move on with the day.  Instead, we need to be in tune with God’s Spirit and connecting with Him at regular intervals throughout the day to get the strength and wisdom we need.   My eating plan required healthy snacks and meals at regular intervals to fuel my metabolism and keep it burning.  Our spiritual metabolisms also need regular fuel to function fully. I’m finding Beth Moore’s words to be true:  “Dependable discernment comes only by walking in the Spirit, and walking in the Spirit comes only by walking and talking with God Himself…The Spirit of God fills us only to the extent that we yield to His authority and welcome His Presence.  (Beth Moore, Faithful, Abundant, True: Three Lives Going Deeper Still p. 138)

There is an obvious comparison between eating healthy and maintaining spiritual well being.  Both require constant vigilance.  We need to be intentional with our efforts to connect with God instead of becoming lazy spiritually or relying on others to keep us growing in our faith.  Beth Moore uses the story of the Israelites and Moses from Exodus 20:18-21 to illustrate this:

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”  Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”  The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

Beth explains:  “That’s how a lot of people still want their religion today.  We still say in effect, ‘I’m not looking to be close to the Father God and to get to know Him intimately through His Son Jesus Christ.  I just want someone to tell me what to do and what not to do and I’ll go on with it from there’…What people with this mind-set don’t understand is that they’re missing the most satisfying love relationship of their entire existence…We will never live one single day in the Spirit accidentally.  It simply cannot happen…You show me a godly woman, and I’ll show you a woman who pursued God”  (Beth Moore, Faithful, Abundant, True: Three Lives Going Deeper Still p. 137 & 139).

Not surprisingly, the Bible has quite a bit to say about staying tuned into the Holy Spirit.  Galatians 5:25 tells us:  “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”  Our job is to match the cadence of our steps to those of the Holy Spirit.  We can only do this through consistent time in God’s Word and prayer.

Over the past few years as I’ve learned more about the Holy Spirit, I’ve incorporated a few regular phrases into my prayer life.  They help me keep in step with the Spirit and remain intentional in my pursuit of Him.  The first is: “God, pour out your Spirit on me today.”  When I pray this, I imagine God taking a pitcher of water and pouring it over my head so that everything around me is soaked with His Spirit.  Although I know that His Spirit already resides in me, asking for more of Him increases my capacity to be filled and used by Him.   Ephesians 5:18b admonishes us to be “filled with the Spirit.”  The footnotes in my study Bible explain this verse well: “The Greek present tense is used in this verse to indicate that the filling of the Spirit it not a once-for-all experience.  Repeatedly, as occasion requires, the Spirit empowers for worship, service and testimony.”  (Zondervan NIV Study Bible p. 1832)

Another regular prayer of mine is “God, align my heart with Your Spirit.”  Essentially, this means asking God to make me want the things He wants.  This is what it means to pray “in Jesus’ name.”  In John 14:13-14 Jesus says  “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”  When we ask in Jesus’ name, it acknowledges our desire for God to be glorified by our requests.  It’s not like a closing salutation for a prayer; it is a statement of wanting our wills to align with God’s and to ask in prayer for the things we know He wants.

Just like I read my meal-planning book throughout the day, we have to consult the Bible regularly to stay aligned with God’s will and Spirit.  We have to be actively engaged in studying His word, praying and seeking Him.  We can’t base our faith on memories of the past. That would be like cooking on autopilot and making the same default meals over and over.  God has something new to show us all the time.  He wants to keep our spiritual metabolisms moving to ingest new truths so that we can use our gifts to bless others and honor Him.

“I am the Lord; that is my name! 
I will not yield my glory to another
 or my praise to idols.  See, the former things have taken place, 
and new things I declare; 
before they spring into being
 I announce them to you.”  -Isaiah 42:8-10

Maybe it’s time to think about your spiritual metabolism.  Are you on autopilot cruising along spiritually without giving much thought to your need for the Spirit?  Is there an area you need to surrender so that you can obey God more fully?  It may seem daunting, but once you address these things, you won’t want to go back to autopilot again.  God has too many great things in store for you and will give you exactly what you need to live walking in His Spirit.

I’ve attached a link below to a song that is a little older.  It is called “Rushing Wind” and is by a Christian musical artist named Keith Green who passed away in a plane crash in 1982.  Although it may not sound as current as some of the songs I usually include, I hope it will bless and inspire you.  I first heard it as a freshman in college in 1988 and it is still one of my favorites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqhS17wt_pE