March 4, 2017

If You Knew {Week 8}

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There’s a song by Don Henley – “The Heart of the Matter” – where the chorus says:

“The more I know, the less I understand

All the things I thought I knew, I’m learning again

I’ve been trying to get down to the Heart of the Matter

But my will gets weak

And my thoughts seem to scatter

But I think it’s about forgiveness

Forgiveness”

Some random thoughts on these lyrics…

The more I study the Word, the less I understand my reluctance to share Christ with people I encounter.

I am in a daily process to relearn life His way instead of my way.

And the heart of the matter is this, “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

But God understands it.  He knows the secrets of my heart (Psalm 44:21).

And when I am weak, then I can be strong in His strength and guidance (2 Co. 12: 8-10).

Scattered thoughts are made obedient to Christ (2 Co. 10:5).

And it is about forgiveness.  God’s forgiveness of me (and you) through His Son on the cross.  His sacrifice makes everything else possible.

 

In Depth

  • Read Romans 1: 18-25
    • What is unbelief?
      • The word for unbelief is [apistia]
        • Faithlessness
        • Unbelief of Christian faith
        • Disobedience

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      • What is the unbelief in these verses?
      • Where are you struggling with unbelief right now?
        • Find scriptures to begin praying over this area of unbelief.
    • Create 2 columns – one for man’s actions and another for God’s actions
      • Circle any actions you see in your life right now. Either an action from yourself or an action from God. (Or possibly both…)

 

Feeling Ambitious?

Read Matthew 26:24

Read Luke 22: 54-62

Read John 21: 1 – 17

 

What do these scriptures teach about forgiveness?

Spend some time pondering the emotions Peter must have experienced during this time.  Write out the emotion/action combination.

Example:  fear/denial

February 25, 2017

If You Knew {Week 7}

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Image result for you are confined only by the walls

I’ve been pondering the above quote recently. Where, in my life, have I deceived myself into believing something about myself that isn’t true?  Or maybe it’s the other way around, and I’ve deceived myself into believing something true when it is not.  Either way – I’ve deceived myself into believing a whole bunch of lies.

Too old

Young

Fat

Skinny

Dumb

Unqualified

 

I’m awesome – nothing – deserving – undeserving – popular- unpopular

And from my earliest memories as a child, I remember these types of thoughts residing in my head.

We can make ourselves believe just about anything – and usually find someone out there to agree with us.

But I’m learning the only One I need to agree with is the One who says I am His child (John 1:12) and that I am chosen, holy and blameless (Eph. 1:4).

When I ponder the Words He has given, I can stop deceiving myself, because I have the truth – and the truth sets me free (John 8:32).

 

In depth:

 

  • Read the following verses:
    • 1 Timothy 4:1
    • 2 Timothy 3: 12-13
    • Jeremiah 17:9
    • Obadiah 1:3
    • James 1:22

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  • For each verse, list what is said about deceit.
    • For example – James 1:26

“If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” (James 1:26)

  • Think religious
  • Don’t control tongue
  • Deceives heart
  • Religion worthless

 

Do you see yourself in the list you made?

Find a verse(s) to pray over this specific deceit.

  • Example from above list:
    • “A gentle tongue is a tree of life…” Prov. 15:4
    • “My tongue will talk of you righteous help all the day long.” Psalm 71:24

 

Feeling ambitious?

 

Read Genesis 32: 22-32 and Eph. 6:12

The word for wrestle in Genesis is abaq [aw-bak’] meaning a vapor/grapple.

In Ephesians, the word for struggle/wrestle is pale [pal’-ay] meaning vibrate.

How do these two texts apply to our struggles and walk with Christ? What are you wrestling with right now?

February 17, 2017

If You Knew {Week 6}

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My least favorite part of teaching was grading papers – especially when I had 143 students.  College did not prepare me for the hours of pouring over 6th grade compositions concerning a favorite holiday or best family vacation.  But when there was assignment paired with an answer key – this was bliss.  The answers were right in front of me!  I didn’t have to think or concentrate – everything I needed was at my fingertips.

We all have an answer key at our fingertips…

Look familiar?

The answers we need in all areas of our lives are found within these pages.  Are you using the answer key He has provided?

In depth

  • Read:
    • Romans 12:10
    • 1 Thess. 4:9
    • Hebrews 13:1
    • 1 Peter 1:22
    • 2 Peter 1:7

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  • How do these verses relate to the Church of Philadelphia?
    • List what these verses tell us to do. Specifically write out how you obey each of the items on your list or how you can start obeying.
  • In His letters to the churches, Christ follows a similar pattern with each:
    • Recipient
    • Lord describes Himself
    • “I Know..” section (commendation/criticism)
    • Exhortation
    • Listen
    • Reward
  • Using this pattern, dissect the letter to the Church of Philadelphia to see how it fits this pattern. Choose one other letter in Revelation to dissect also.

 

Feeling ambitious?

Read the following writing by C S Lewis.  How does this article relate to the topic of keys?  How does it relate to the church?

http://www.lewissociety.org/innerring.php

February 12, 2017

If You Knew {Week 5}

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Image result for swing

I took my girls to the park this week.  I am embarrassed to admit it had been a long time.  A really long time!

And as I was swinging with them, emotions overwhelmed me.  My girls are big now and don’t need me to put them on the swing or push them.  Somehow, over the course of time, I have waited myself right out of some precious memories with my babies.

I waited for the weather to get cooler.

I waited for the weather to get warmer.

I waited for my girls to accomplish their to do list.

I waited for my schedule to have an opening.

I waited until I felt like it.

I waited.

And in the waiting, I missed the giggles between cries of,  “Push me higher mama.”  And the constant pleading, “Watch this mama, watch this!”

I tell them I’m sorry we haven’t done this more.  I promise to get better creating these moments.  Because I don’t want to wait myself out of moments anymore.

 

 

In depth

  • Read 1 Samuel 15
    • Who are the key players in this chapter?
    • What are the major events?

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  • Reread verse 5 (1 Samuel 15:5)
    • The word wait here is
      • Riyb rub – to grapple/wrangle
      • It is the same word used In Gen. 26:20 (strive) and Exodus 17:2 (chide)
    • How does this idea of waiting tie in with the lessons on waiting from Esther?
    • What parallels are there between Saul/Agag (Agag is most likely a title for the leader such as Pharaoh) and Mordecai/Haman?
      • What lesson can we apply to our lives from the relationship of these men?

 

Feeling ambitious?

  • Read
    • Joel 2:28
    • Matt. 3: 11-12
    • John 14:16
  • What do these verses have in common?
  • What are the circumstances surrounding these words?
  • How do these verses relate to Acts 1:4?

February 3, 2017

If You Knew {Week 4}

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What’s on your mind?

I love Trump/I hate Trump

Immigration

Build a wall

Hollywood’s political insights

It’s a made up theme day

Here’s a picture of my kid

Here’s a picture of my food

Here’s a picture of my dog

Join me in Thriving – It Works – Plexus – Rodan and Fields – Younique…..

I just ran 70 miles

Here’s me at the gym doing 5,000 burpees

Here’s a cute meme

Type Amen and be blessed in the next five minutes with a zillion dollars

Marilyn Monroe will play you in your life movie

Htown Superbowl

Bipolar weather

You are now completely caught up with Facebook.  And your mind is free to focus elsewhere.  Take the time you would spend scrolling people’s walls to have a real life conversation with a friend.  Or take someone a cup of coffee and a donut and visit with them.  Spend time in prayer seeking what actions the Lord wants you to take today.  I promise you won’t miss a thing online, but you will gain a huge blessing!

 

In Depth

 

  • Read Matthew 8:27. Consider the power of Jesus that even the winds and sea obey Him.
    • Obey – [hupakouo] – listen attentively/heed or conform to a command
    • How can we come along side one another to produce this kind of obedience to His commands?

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  • Consider the same question with Mark 1:27
  • Read Luke 17:6. What does this verse say about us? Why do we struggle with believing this?
    • Find at least three verses to support the authority we possess in His Spirit. (Please share what you find)

 

Feeling ambitious?

Read Leviticus 19: 9 – 37.  Make a list of the laws given in these verses.  How do these verses tie in to the greatest commandment? (Mark 12:29-31)

January 28, 2017

If You Knew {Week 3}

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Forsaken.

Such an ugly word.

Even uglier when experienced.

Many years ago I received a text from a friend of two decades.  It simply read, “I can no longer be your friend.”

Devastation flooded through me. What had I done wrong? How could I fix it? I replied through text. I sent letters and cards.

Silence.

Throughout the entire grieving period of the lost friendship, God made it clear that this was His will.  Though I was forsaken by this person, He assured me that I was never forsaken by Him (Deut. 31:6).  He is the constant companion who calls me friend (John 15:15).

 

 

In Depth

 

  • Choose Isaiah 53 or Genesis 22. (Both if time permits)
    • Compare your chosen chapter to Psalm 22 and Matthew 27.
      • What are similarities and fulfilled prophesies?

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    • Read Deut. 28:20 and 29:25. Forsaken is used here for the first time in the Old Testament. (Forsake is first used in Deut. 4:31).
      • What is the who, what, when, where, why and how of these verses?
        • How do these verses apply to us today?

 

Feeling ambitious?

Create a chronology of Christ’s crucifixion with the four gospels.  (Try not to just print this off the internetJ).  Compare your chronology with Psalm 22.  Are there more parallels between the Psalm and the gospels?

January 20, 2017

If You Knew {Week 2}

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In elementary school, I had a sweet boy follow me around everywhere.  Each morning he arrived before me and made sure to have my books in the basket under my desk and my pencils sharpened.  He brought extra snacks to share at lunch and played whatever I wanted at recess.  For a while I was feeling pretty good about myself.  All the attention made me stand out in class because everyone noticed.  EVERYONE noticed!!

That’s when the talking started.  Nasty comments made just within hearing distance.

Why did I let him do this?

Who was I to get the attention?

Did my parents pay him to wait on me?

And on and on.

Once the thoughts took up residence in my mind, I obsessed and fretted over them.  Classmates began making fun of my friend, yet everyday he continued getting my books and pencils.

Then the new boy appeared.  You know the one – The slightly bad boy with perfect hair and jeans.  The one who every girl screams in her head, “Pick me!”

It wasn’t long after bad boy’s arrival he questioned me about my follower.  He assured me he could take care of the problem, and my sweet friend wouldn’t “bother” me anymore. I was so excited he was talking to me I said yes –  thank you.

The next day the new boy approached my friend in the gym, knocked his books out of his hands and pushed him back against the wall.  He told him to leave me alone.

I will never forget the look on my sweet friend’s face.  I had caused this; all because of negative comments and a cute boy.  I knew it could never be the same.

But the next day, I walked into class and books were in my desk with sharpened pencils.

My sweet friend smiled.

I gave him a huge hug.

Lesson in faithfulness learned.

REAL LIFE: IN DEPTH

  • What negative comments and pretty things distract us from following Christ as we are commanded?
    • Write out Philippians 3:8
    • Is this verse true for you?

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  • Look up the following scriptures where disciple is used in the Old Testament:
      • Hebrew word – limmud limmud (disciple, learned, taught, instructed)
    • Isaiah 8:16
    • Isaiah 50:4
    • Isaiah 54:13
  • What do these verses reveal to us about disciples and discipleship?
  • Make a list of the costs Jesus gives us in choosing to follow Him?
    •  What are the specific costs to your life in following Him?
      • Be very specific
        • Time – time from what?

Feeling ambitious

  • Before next class, find someone to fellowship with that is different from your norm. Yes, it will cost you something from your schedule.

January 13, 2017

If You Knew {Week 1}

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On January 10, 2010, The Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates was unveiled. It is the largest tower in the world reaching a staggering height of 2,716.5 feet. If you’ve travelled to the top of the Empire State Building or Eiffel Tower, you were approximately 1,000 feet short of the height of Burj Khalifa. With an elevator ascending at 40 miles an hour, visitors canreach the observation deck in two minutes. Designed by Adrian Smith, the structure was originally named Burj Dubai, but was renamed in honor of the President of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan. The building was created to make a name for the area and create international recognition.

Sound familiar?

Building with the intent to make a name…

Tower of Babel

And those overachieving innovators only accomplished a structure of 300 feet.

Man is a determined creature. Many of us spend our lives building something that has no purpose for the Kingdom of God.

And just when we think maybe – maybe, we have accomplished something, someone else comes along and does it bigger and better. So our cycle of building begins once more.

In April 2016, plans were announced to create a new tower in Dubai – just a “notch taller” than the Burj Khalifa. Having the tallest building in the world is not even enough. They still want more.

But what if today our ‘more’ became Jesus and not the things of this world?

If we chose to make our building about Christ…

Building our lives for Him.

Building our homes for Him.

Building our relationships for Him- that is the only building that matters.

  • Read Luke 14:28. Make a list of the cost – to your life specifically – to build your life around Christ. Consider how your daily/weekly/monthly schedule would change.   How would your spending change? What would you read/watch/hear? Where would you go? Ask God to reveal any hidden costs not coming to mind

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  • The following clips are from the exhibit “The End of Carrying it All.’ After viewing each, what is in your basket weighing you down? What is causing you to stumble and bow down? How can you begin removing or balancing the basket?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC4QiJ4x3oA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU9ABd_3QH4

FEELING AMBITIOUS?

Try to find at least 2 chiastic structures in scripture.  It can be a single verse of a passage.

Example: Mark 2:27

“The Sabbath was made for humankind, not humankind for the Sabbath.”

A – The Sabbath

B- for humankind

B – not humankind

A – the Sabbath

 

Try Mark 10:31.

 

If you have questions or insights, please share!

December 24, 2016

Crunch Time

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It’s crunch time!  The finish line is in view, and if you are like me, we are racing toward it as quickly as possible.

Cooking and baking those last few goodies

Wrapping the last few presents

Making the grocery list for forgotten items

Shopping for that one person who bought us a gift we weren’t expecting

We are busy creating the perfect Christmas for the ones we love; desperately hoping we are making memories to last forever.

But I can’t help thinking of that first Christmas so long ago.  That special mama was not frantically looking for the perfect gift – she had the perfect gift.

And we do too.

Luke 2:19 tells us that Mary, “treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”

Through a combination of manual cialis 40 mg loved that adjustment, soft tissue therapy, and trigger point therapy – while medical students move on to individual specialties. If, you probably may find cialis in the uk free estimation form, from the experts will go through your appeal & if likely will aid you on which power of Kamagra you need exactly and which one can bring happiness back into your married life. Minimal side effects may be experienced such buy viagra on line as dizziness, headache, flushing, running nose, upset stomach, and diarrhea. With least cialis mastercard response time, jellies give you ultimate way of making love with your female partner. Let’s not get so busy trying to create the perfect Christmas that we miss the treasures in front of us.

Slow down.  Take a breath.  Be Still.

Remember why we do it all in the first place.

For that little baby – that grew to be the Man – that gave His life for us.

We only get this Christmas 2016 once.

Don’t race through it.

Enjoy it!

 

 

December 12, 2016

Ish {Names of God: Week 14}

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“Don’t go”. Two words- whispered through tears. Words that should have shattered my heart into a million pieces upon hearing, but instead hardened it beyond any emotion. I walked out without a backward glance, leaving my husband- just one day after his father’s funeral- standing alone in the middle of our kitchen. I began justifying my behavior as soon as I got in the car and headed out for a week long girls trip.

I deserved this.
I worked hard.
He didn’t need me.
I would be a better wife after a vacation.
And on and on.

Shamefully, I admit that I never felt guilty the entire trip, and I enjoyed it. A lot.

It wasn’t until several years later, sitting in a Bible study on the submission of wives that all the memories of my years of rebellious, selfish behavior came flooding in and ripped my heart to shreds. So many wasted days, that I can never get back in my marriage. The friends I traveled with are long gone, but my husband was a constant.

Constantly neglected.
Constantly disrespected.
Constantly unloved.

I repented. I asked for forgiveness. I began praying that God would change my heart to have so much love and respect for my husband. I even specifically prayed for tingles when he walked into the room. Our God is faithful.

  • Read Psalm 37:1-5
    • List all of the actions we are to take in these verses. Which of these actions are easy for you? Which ones are more difficult? Why?
    • Focus on verse 5. What do you need to commit to the Lord so He can act?
    • Write out a commitment to Him about this/these area(s) in your life.

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  • Christ is our example in submission. Read the following passages, and focus on the example Jesus is setting for us:
    • John 6:26-40
    • Mark 13:32-42
    • John 5:18-24
      • In what ways did Jesus submit in each passage? How can we apply these examples in our submission to Him? To our husbands? To leadership?