My Summer with Beth Moore

So I've taken two Bible studies this summer and both were Beth Moore.  During June, I attended one called Wednesdays with Beth that focused on different videos that she has done on a range of topics.  I really enjoyed it and hope to blog about some of those soon.  I blogged a little bit about one of them in my 19 years post, but there were a lot of other good things that I want to remember.

During July, I did Loving Well with my friend, Heather.  I didn't know any of the other girls in the group, but it was a great group!  I really enjoyed my time with them and felt like we were all in the same place in life struggling with the same issues.  This really brought even more depth to the study as we talked things through and sought God's direction!  The only problem was the study was much too short!!!!

Here is bit of what I learned in Loving Well...

In our life we have usually four categories of people:

Joy-- those people we enjoy loving... the ones that are easy to love.
Testy-- those people who are difficult to love, but that are usually in our life for a reason and aren't relationships that we are meant to sever
Foe-- these are the people that while we are still called to love them, we aren't meant to be best friends with them and the relationship is often one we need to end because it is not glorifying to God.
Far-- these are people who aren't in our daily life, but we are still called to love and serve... such as orphans, missionaries, etc.

The whole study was based on these four facts:

1. God is perfect love.
2. Nothing an separate me from God's perfect love.
3. God pours His perfect love into our imperfect hearts.
4. Accessed (through Christ's love and strength) I can love anyone through anything!

Here are some phrases that Beth used that really made an impact on me:

• We will not love well until we feel well loved.
• Anything is easier than loving.
• We can never make God love us more or less because love is not an emotion.
• When we stay in fear, we are not letting God's love be made complete in us.
• We are not mature in how we allow God to love us if we are wrecked with insecurity.
• Restoration is always the will of God.
• Never minimize the power of an apology.
• Let's start loving because we are already loved not because we want to be loved.
• There are some things we will never get over, but maybe that's because wants to use that in our life to continually grow us in Him.
• We an love anyone through anything because we are loved.
• Our testy has been assigned to us... to complete something in us... to bring us gain, not pain.
• Let's learn to love with insight... Pray that we will have insight into those who test us.
• Why are we expecting a broken person to love us wholly?
• God is our loving well.  He is who we dip into in order to love those who don't love us back.
• We have the opportunity to love with no strings attached.  To love without getting anything in return.
• We will never be completely healed if we don't pour our lives into others.

I was really needing these Bible Studies this summer.  I can't wait for BSF to start in the Fall because I just feel like my quiet time has been lacking lately.  I need to be in the Word and am challenging myself to spend August really preparing my heart and working through areas of hurt, insecurity, anxiety, etc.  I want to be able to love others well because I am well loved.  I want to pour into others and be completely healed...  

More BSF Praise

I didn't mention this, but yesterday at Sharing Day several moms told stories on how their children had sang songs they'd learned in BSF or talked about Jesus, etc.  Some of these stories were even about children as young as Finley who had seen a picture of a book and said "Bible" or saw a picture of Jesus and kissed Him.  

Well, this morning, as Finley and I ate breakfast together, I read out of our One Year Children's Bible.  At no point, did I say the word "Bible", but when I closed it, Finley pointed to it and said "Bible."  

How wonderful!  

God Gives Hope to the Hopeless

and BSF to the Momless....

Two Years Ago:

When I found out I was pregnant, I immediately started asking God to provide Godly resources for raising children.  

One Year Ago:

Finley was 6 months old before I first heard of BSF.  My friend, Mary, invited me to attend BSF with her last May and sign up for the study of John which would start in the Fall.  I went with a closed heart and a skeptical mind, but praying that God would reveal if BSF was a place for me.

I will never forget that morning at BSF because I knew instantly that BSF was where I wanted to be... and more importantly where God wanted me to be.  As Jodi, the teaching leader, lectured, it was if she was speaking straight to me.  She seemed to touch on every single sensitive issue that I had been struggling with and yet, she did it with such grace.  How obvious it was to see that God was pouring His words out of her!

BSF-- Fall 2009:

Over the summer I secured childcare for Finley on Tuesdays just so that I could be a part of BSF.  I had not planned to put Finley in MDO, but it was a blessing for both of us.  Each week at BSF, I waited to pick up a pink sheet.  The pink sheet given each week was devoted to Raising Godly Children.  I poured over each one so thankful that God was providing just as I had prayed that He would over a year before.

November 2009:

My discussion group leader left and we received a new one.  I was upset, angry, and confused. Our discussion group was close and we were quite happy with our leader. Then Vicki, our new leader, opened up at our fellowship, revealing that she had lost both of her parents and had struggled with raising her children without the help of her mom.  Though our whole group was not represented, we found that all of us there but one lives without one or both of our parents and our group is very young!  I knew that once again God had answered.  Our group bonded with Vicki instantly.

January 2010:

BSF opened up an under 2 program that allowed Finley to learn the same Bible truths that I was learning each week.  I broke down thinking about how God had answered once again.  Instead of dropping Finley off at MDO on Tuesday's and rushing to BSF, we were able to go together. 

The 3rd week I brought her with me, Finley started struggling with stranger anxiety for the first time in her life.  She clung to me and her teacher, Mrs. F, prayed over her.  I cried.  What a gift it was to have someone pray for her!  I felt a burden lifted...  I knew that her leaders were sharing in my desire to teach her the Word of God and to pray for her.  A gift I could've never expected from a stranger.  (I told Mrs. F how much that had meant to me and she started crying!  Isn't it amazing how others can touch us so profoundly and not even know it?)

April & May 2010:

Jodi called me at the end of April and asked to interview me for leadership.  She came to our house and I poured out my heart.  After telling her far more than she probably ever wanted to know, she said "We would be honored to have you join our team."  I couldn't believe that God had opened this door for I felt and still feel so unworthy, but most of all, I am thankful.  Thankful to be a part of such a Godly group of women especially after serving as a Discussion Leader in Training for the last weeks of April and beginning of May and seeing how God is using them.

Yesterday:

We had Sharing Day (a chance to reflect and give thanks for how we've seen God work in our lives during the past BSF year) for the Leadership Team of BSF.   Vicki and I shared how God had orchestrated our little group who had experienced such loss.  As we were taking a bathroom break, another Discussion Leader, Emily, approached me.  She said "I lost my mom 12 years ago and I always love seeing how God uses BSF to help the momless.  It seems I'm constantly seeing it year after year."

The "Momless"... I've never heard that term before and can't say I enjoy being in this group, but it's comforting to think that just as God gives hope to the hopeless, He gives BSF to the momless.  Of course, BSF is just a tool and one that He uses for more populations than just the momless, but it's nice to feel understood.  It's nice to have a place. 

Today:

Today was the last BSF of the year and was a Sharing Day for all of the class members.  It was nothing short of incredible.  As one lady shared about how meaningful the Children's Program had been to her, I teared up knowing that I couldn't have said it better myself.  She said:

The best way to love me is to love my children.

And the best way to love my children is to teach them about the One who loves them more than I ever could.

The Lord answers.  Sometimes it isn't how I expect and sometimes it isn't in my timing, but He does answer.  BSF has been an amazing answer to what felt like at times a hopeless prayer.  I am so grateful to serve a God who gives hope to the hopeless and brought BSF to me, the momless.

Truth-filled Tuesday

Dear Finley,
Today at BSF, we took a deeper look at John 17....  This is a passage to read when:
You are feeling discouraged about your Christian walk...
You are discouraged about your circumstances...
You are feeling unloved or unappreciated....

In this passage, we see Jesus pray for His Disciples & His Future Disciples (Us!)... we see just how much He loves us.  We see how treasured we are.  We also see Christ in the midst of His biggest challenge.

In John 17, Jesus is hours from being arrested... hours from the Garden of Gethsemane.

Jesus had to put His faith in God to fulfill His promises...  Just as we must.

What an example... Even in praying for Himself, He was praying for us.

Jesus was sovereign and knew what we were to face and His prayer was drenched in His love for us.  He was NOT praying for unbelievers (v. 9)... His disciples were on His heart.  He does pray for unbelievers, just not here... He prays for their conversion.

We are a love gift from God to Jesus!  How valuable we are to Him... He discusses this 7 times in this one passage.  Shows just how important it is for us to understand our value to Him.  God could have given His Son anything in creation and yet, He chose us as His gift!  WOW!

Why does Jesus value us?
1. Jesus loves us, His disciples, because of the One who gave us to Him.
What do we love that no one else does?
What has value to us that no one else values?

2. He reveals His name to us.
We get to call Him "Father"

3. They (we) received His Words and believed them.
This is a picture of salvation.
How we respond to His Word is EVERYTHING!
How are we showing Him we value His word?

4. They (we) glorify Him.
Those disciples are who everyone else will come to know Him.
Trusting Him in the midst of troubles glorifies Him and points others towards Him.
Our willingness to commit to Christ fully and surrendering the pleasures of this World glorifies Him.

V. 11: We see Christ's love and compassion for the disciples and the persecution to be be faced.  In the midst of trouble, Christ is focused on others.


Principle #1:
Sovereign Jesus deeply loves and values His followers and always knows their deepest need.

He is always praying for us and only He knows what we are facing and about to face.


What He prayed for His disciples & us?
1. Protection in an unholy world.

2. Protection by the POWER of His name.

3. Unity within the Body of Believers.
This is called the Church, the Foundation (God is the cornerstone), the Bride of Christ, etc.

4. Full measure of joy within Him.
Jesus' joy came from completing His work... We are to remember joy is the fruit of the Spirit.

5. Kept from the evil one.

6. That we would be sanctified.
Sanctify means to be set apart for a purpose.

Principle #2:
Jesus' prayer focused on His Father's power and His followers' dependence on His word.

What should I set myself apart from in order to spend more time with Him?
SELFISHNESS!!!!!

Am I praying for future generations of believers in our family?
I love that our lecturer talked about this since it is based on the verse (Psalm 78:4) that I found more than a year before I became pregnant with you and used to tell your Daddy about your existence.  Telling future generations about His grace is the very foundation on which we are building our family and on the foundation we so desire you to build your own family on one day!

We can't make this unity... but we can PRESERVE it.

Principle #3:
Sovereign Jesus will love and pray for His followers until the end of time!

May you know the value Jesus has for you and rest fully immersed in His love!
I love you!
Mommy

Truth-filled Tuesday

Dear Finley,
Today we started John 17.  What a powerful book of the Bible this is!  It is an absolute privilege to read Jesus' prayer to His Father just before He was crucified!

Here is the outline of this week's lecture:
I. The Circumstances and Significance of Jesus' Prayer
II. Outline of Jesus' Prayer
III. Jesus' Prayer for Himself

As we start John 17, it is important once again to remember that this chapter occurs the same night as Jesus washing the disciples feet, dismisses Judas, talks about the vine and branches, predicts persecution, etc.  So much importance in this one evening!

Here we see that Jesus believed God's promises just as we must!  He is the author and perfecter of our faith... He is the example.

Faith sees God's promises as already accomplished.
Trust is the channel through which peace flows.

This is Jesus' prayer!  We see the intimacy of the Trinity.

What is prayer?
Prayer is talking to God.
God talks to us through His Word and we talk to Him through prayer.
It is how our fellowship is deepened.

Jesus is truly our HIGH PRIEST!
He intercedes for us.
We are on His heart.
We do not need a human priest to intercede for us.

Throughout John, we have seen Jesus praying:
morning
night
preparation
protection
for Himself
for others

We should be praying as often as Christ!

Principle #1:
The most Christ-like thing we can do is pray!!!!!!!

This WILL be costly!  All meaningful things cost something.  It WILL require change!

What do I need to do in order to give LIFE to my Prayer Life?

Talk to Him like we do our best friend.

II. Outline of Jesus' Prayer

v. 1-5: Prays for Himself
v. 6-19: Prays for His Disciples
v. 20-24: Prays for US!

Disciples had no idea how far-reaching all of what they were experiencing would be... they had no concept of us as believers so many generations later.

How Jesus Prayed:
1/3-- Himself
2/3-- Others

Principle #2:
Christ-like prayers are focused on eternal purposes, others, and glorifying God.

What Christ prayed:
v.1: The hour has come... whole picture... completed work... Glorify Me so that I can Glorify You

2 Meanings of Glory:
Glory--displaying God to His fullest... all of His attributes revealed
Glory-- radiant, glowing

v. 2: We are a gift given from God to the Son... We are His JOY!  We choose Him because He chose us.

v. 3: Eternal Life... Great VERSE!!!!!  Know only, true God... have a personal relationship with Him.... this is the difference between death and eternal life.  Even demons KNOW about God... Must KNOW Him intimately...

Principle #3:
Eternal life is a personal relationship with the ONLY true God through Jesus Christ.

It is NOT enough to know ABOUT Him!

What will I say at the end of my days?  Here is the actual transcript of what Jesus said.  May we live the same way!

Principle #4:
The One who prays for us is one with God the Father in glory and purpose!!!!

My sweet darling little girl... My goal is to teach you ABOUT Jesus, but my prayer is for you to KNOW Him.  It makes all the difference in the world!

Love,
Mommy

Truth-filled Tuesday

I'm two weeks behind on my Truth-filled Tuesday's so since BSF is on Spring Break this week, I thought it would be a good week to catch up...

Dear Finley,

This week in BSF, we studied I John 1-5...  once again, we are learning the vital truth that our God is a personal God!

The basic outline for this week was:

I. Fellowship with a Holy God is a Reality

II. Fellowship with a Holy God is Revealed through Tests

III. Fellowship with a Holy God is found in Jesus Christ

At this time, false teachers were becoming very prevalent...  They were teaching that one couldn't have sin in one's life and have a relationship with Christ.  They also taught that Jesus could not have been fully God and fully man at the same time.  And lastly, they taught that one can't have assurance of salvation.  

False teachers today teach many of these same beliefs.

In I John, Know is used 40 times.  This shows the importance of the message being proclaimed in this book.  John was here to set the record straight by saying: "I was there." "I want you to have fellowship with a Holy God." "There's a joy in companionship with God."

God is light...we continue to see this message throughout the New Testament...

Completely holy, perfect, just

No darkness in Him

He dismisses 3 of their claims:

~can't continue living how you want and have same relationship with God... we must be cleansed

~no such thing as "sinless perfection"... we must confess our sins and He will forgive us

~God calls us to live without sin, but when we do sin, we have an Advocate

Important Bible Truth:  Sin is an outrage against God.  It separates us.  It is universal.  It effects us and those around us.

If we don't understand the impact of our sin, we can't fully comprehend His sacrifice.

Principle #1:

Sinful people can have fellowship with a Holy God if and only if they are in Christ.

Either in God or not!

He is our only way to salvation.

I John 1:9 MEMORIZE

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

How can I make my relationship with Him even sweeter??????  We should always ask ourselves this question...

What's on the inside WILL come out...

Because we have fellowship with God, He will be more and more evident.

Obedience will be part of our life if we love Him... We should walk as Jesus did.

We must compare ourselves to Jesus and not to others.

We should be loving one another... especially other believers.

We can love people of the world, but not the system of the world....

What is the world?

The cravings of sinful man (I want to be in charge of my life... I want to control my life and the lives of others....)

Lust of the eyes (I want everything I see...)

Boastful  (Proud of all we are and do)

We should see that the desires of this world are deceiving.

Obedience and perseverance are tests of fellowship with Christ.

True believers have the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is like a lie detector that enables us to discern false teaching.

Persevere with Biblical doctrine!

Stay with the Truth.

How closely am I listening to my inner lie detector?  

The hope of the 2nd coming should effect how I'm living!  Should impact my daily life!

We will sin, but continual and habitual sin should cease when we are in fellowship with Christ.

We are loving others with our lives... in love and deed!

I John 4:4 MEMORIZE

"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."

God is love...

the source of love

holy, pure, and just.

We must yield to Him in order to love others!

We should have no fear of Judgement Day because our sin has been taken care of.

We should not fear what God might do to us... We have a perfect God with a perfect love for us.

Principle #2:

God has done everything necessary for us to enjoy the certainty of eternal life with Him.

Principle #3:

Assurance of salvation requires the right object... Jesus of Nazareth.

Can't work for eternal life!  It's a free gift of God's amazing grace!

I love you, sweet girl!  You are an amazing testament to God's grace and a constant reminder to His unconditional love!

Mommy

Dear Finley,

We have moved into John 16 and are seeing Jesus' last moments before His crucifixion.  As a parent, I am relating to His words of comfort and warning.  He loves His disciples and wants to protect them, but knows He can only do so much.

The outline for this chapter is:

I. The Holy Spirit's Work Through the Believer

II. The Holy Spirit's Work For the Believer

III. Jesus' Last Words of Comfort and Promise

Let's remember John 13...

Washing Feet

Evening Before Crucifixion

"I am going away..."

v. 7: "It is good for Me to go away...."

Disciples only heard the negative.  They didn't want to hear He was coming back and that He would live with us forever.

Question:

John 15:27 "You will testify about me!"

We are mostly fishermen.... uneducated...  How will we do this?

Answer:

v.8 I am sending a Holy Spirit to you that the world will be convinced

v.9 What sin will they be convicted of?"

REJECTING Christ... this is the root of all sins.

We can't convict the world of sin.

Only the Holy Spirit can speak through us.

We need to pray!

We need to know the Word!

We need to live holy lives!

Our responsibility is to BE READY!

It isn't only what we say, but how we live...

"Be ready to give an answer...."

v. 11 Convince the world that their righteousness is just filthy rags:

We can share God's message and reveal how we live, but it is the Holy Spirit that must open their eyes and their hearts.

What sin is a battleground for us?

God will give us victory over it!

Convince the world of judgement:

The Holy Spirit can use the believer's life that it is possible to live a righteous life free of judgement.

Principle #1:

God's plan to draw unbelievers to Himself is to use Holy Spirit-filled believers yielded to His power.

Must be plugged into the Holy Spirit to be effective.

We must be praying for the unbelievers in our lives!  Pray the Holy Spirit will convince them of the Truth.

v. 12-- The disciples are feeling overwhelmed

Jesus discuss the Holy Spirit

The Spirit of Truth will give only what God gives Him... This is whole NT in a verse... Speaks of what will come

v. 15-- all the belongs to the Father is mine

We are NOT writing new books of the Bible

The Bible gives us enlightenment

The Bible gives us discernment

The Bile is ALIVE, fresh, new!

The Holy Spirit illuminates Jesus to us.

Principle #2:

The Holy Spirit will lead yielded believers to see, to love, and to obey Jesus in their study of the Bible.

Yesterday's truths are not good for today... must be in the Word every day!

v. 16-33

Won't see me

Will see me

Great joy

Immediate fulfillment:

Would be crucified the next day

Won't see me

Delayed fulfillment:

Saw Him when He rose from dead

Future fulfillment:

Joy in Heaven

Sorrow and pain with purpose

~Like childbirth

~fruit of child versus fruit of salvation

~both result in new life

Where is your focus?

problem or God

I need strength to trust the purposes I can't see!  How much am I praying!!!!!?????!!!!

Prayer Pre-requisites:

1. Ask

2. Ask in His name

~doesn't go against His will

His last words before His prayer:

You WILL have trouble

You won't be alone

You will have peace

I HAVE overcome the world

Peace is the possession of adequate resources.

Principle #3:

Jesus' peace is not based on circumstances but in trusting the One who controls the circumstances.

I am so thankful that I can point you to the Master of peace.  No matter what your life holds there is always rest in His arms.

Love,

Mom

Truth-filled Tuesday

Dear Finley,
Today our BSF lecture was over John 15-16:4.  To set the scene, Jesus is trying to prepare His disciples for all that was about to happen... including Peter's denial, His death and crucification, His ascension, the new relationship they would have with him, with each other, with unbelievers, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Our leader was comparing it to how as parents we work so hard to prepare our kids for whatever is going to happen and I laughed thinking how true that is!  Ever since you were a baby, I would talk to you about your pediatrician appointments, our day, MDO, etc.  I try to make sure you know what to expect even though obviously, I could never prepare you completely.  It's nice to see that Jesus wanted the same for His loved ones as well.

In this passage, we see Jesus proclaim Himself as the true vine...
This is based on the Old Testament... where Israel was referred to as God's vine.
The disciples realized that Jesus was everything that Israel was meant to be.
Pretty powerful, huh?

So Jesus is the vine,
God is the gardener,
and Believers are the branches.

The branches' connection to the vine is what produces fruit.

There will be PRUNING... like Jesus washing the feet of His disciples, we need daily maintenance in order to live holy lives.

The Gardener expects fruit.  Fruit comes through connection to Jesus....
AND NOT OUR EFFORT.

If you want to produce fruit, it is not going to work by saying "I'm going to start being fruitful."  Our ability to bear fruit is solely based on our relationship with Jesus.  If we want to bear fruit, we must spend time with Him and let Him work through us.

Fruit= worship, praise, witness, etc.

In this metaphor, Jesus says every dead branch will be cut off...
Most likely, He is discussing counterfeit Christians who have external relationship, but were never connected internally to the vine.  This does NOT mean we can lose our salvation.  Nothing can pluck us from His hand.

Jesus goes on to talk about branches that do bear fruit...
He cuts them too.  In order for us to bear even more fruit, He must prune us.
What are our time wasters?  What relationships, hobbies, etc. pull us away from Him?
Many times it is the hard circumstances that drive us to Him.
We are cleansed by the Word.

He also discusses remaining or abiding in Him in order to bear fruit.  In order to abide fully in Him, we must let Him effect all of our decisions and control all areas of our lives.

We cannot produce lasting fruit without Him.  On our own, we can do nothing.  We can teach/witness/worship/etc. with human effort, but that doesn't mean we are producing fruit.  We MUST yield to His power in us in order to bear fruit.

There are many people in the world doing many wonderful things, but their reward is on Earth.  We want to bear lasting fruit that earns us eternal rewards in Heaven.  Our good works do not determine our salvation... they do determine our rewards!

Fulfillment of bearing fruit:
Prayers are answered if we remain in Him.
We have joy.

Principle #1:
True abiding in Christ always results in a fruitful life pruned by God.

Focus:
Abiding... not bearing fruit.  He produces the fruit and we must be connected to Him.  We must focus our complete attention on abiding in Him.  The fruit comes with that.

Am I producing fruit?
Do I love the Judas in my life?
Do I have peace in difficult circumstances?
Do I have patience when things are going my way?
Do I have joy despite everything that is going on?
Do I exercise self-control?

This process of growing more and more in Christ is called sanctification.

How can I abide more and more in Christ?  This is the question we should ask ourselves daily.

It hurts to be pruned, but it always allows us to produce more fruit.

How am I responding to the Gardeners shears?
With bitterness? Frustration? Fear? Resentment?  Disappointment?

Disciples were not close to each other during this time.  They were arguing over who would be the greatest in the kingdom of God and now soon, they will not have Christ among them.

At this point, Jesus commands that they Love each other as they loved Him.  He discusses again how obedience is a display of their love of Him just as He obeyed His Father, we must obey Him.

We must love sacrificially.
Jesus says we will be His friend if we obey Him.  He choses us to bear fruit that lasts.

Joy is independent of everything except our relationship with God... Joy is peace dancing.

Principle #2:
Remaining in Jesus' love changes our focus from concern of self to love for others.

Do I focus and rest in the joy that God chose me, loves me and wants me to bear fruit?

How willing am I to love other believers in order for them to grow in Christ?

The measure of how connected we are to Christ is how much we can love others.

The world hates us because it hated Christ.  We are not citizens of this world.  We are different and the world hates different.

Jesus ends this section discussing persecution of Christ and believers...
Our world says "You have a Master's degree and you believe THAT?"
We are excluded, criticized, etc.
Our lifestyle makes them feel guilty for their actions and they do not want to change.

Therefore, we should not be surprised by persecution.

Principle #3:
The more one is like Christ, the more he can expect persecution from the world.

It is my hope and prayer that you will always remain connected to the vine of Jesus and that through His pruning you will produce lasting fruit and bear witness to Him.
Love,
Mom

Truth-filled Tuesday

Dear Finley,
Today's lecture at BSF covered the end of John 14.  In these verses, we see very clearly the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers.

The disciples were fearful of Jesus leaving so Jesus begins to tell them about a Comforter that He will send to be with them.  This Comforter is called the Spirit of Truth.

In verse 16, we find that the Holy Spirit is an answer to Jesus' prayer.  He asks the Father for the Spirit on our behalf.  The Spirit will be with us forever and is personally given to believers.

He is just as much God as Jesus Himself is.  Though the word Trinity is never in the Bible, the Trinity is clearly a Bible Truth.  God exists in 3 parts... 3 persons.  God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

All 3 persons of the Trinity are:
holy, eternal, Sovereign, Omnipotent, etc.

The Trinity has ALWAYS existed....
In the Old Testament, the Father is revealed and Jesus is prophesized.
In the New Testament, Jesus is revealed and executes the promises of the Old Testament.
The Holy Spirit allows us to understand these truths.

They are of one mind that work together to accomplish God's plans.

Important-- the Holy Spirit is a person... not an IT!
The Bible clearly refers to the Holy Spirit as a HIM.

The world does not accept the Holy Spirit.

Principle #1:
The Holy Spirit is the 3rd person of the Trinity and is given by the Father and the Son to live inside each believer forever.

He empowers us to do God's will if we yield to Him.

The Role of the Holy Spirit:
Comforter, Counselor, Advocate-- One called alongside to plead your cause.
An expert.
One who can help the lost, the depressed, the confused, etc.

Spirit of Truth...
The unbeliever does not recognie Him.
The world thinks His ways are foolish.

At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down to indwell in believers.

The Holy Spirit is in us and can influence those who don't know Jesus.  It's important to realize that when we allow the Holy Spirit to work through us, we can accomplish God's divine purpose.

The Holy Spirit awakes an interest in spiritual things...  John 6:44 tells us that no one can come to the Father unless he has been drawn to Him.

He gives us fresh truth from known passages.  He brings to mind what we have heard and known from the Bible and enables us to see it in new ways.

We ought to pray that the Holy Spirit will open up our hearts to each passage so that we can understand it and make applications in our lives.

Because we have the Holy Spirit, we do not have to feel alone or as if no one cares or understands.

In verses 21-24, Jesus says that He will become real to us...

IF (Condition)

We keep His commands.

We must be in the Word in order to obey Him.  If we are not studying His word, we can't put it into action.

The Holy Spirit NEVER leaves us, but His power can be quenched if we are not allowing Him to work in our hearts.

Principle #2:
Obeying Christ will increasingly unveil His heart to us and deepen our love for Him.

Our disobedience reveals a lack of love for Him.

Where is the Holy Spirit nudging us?

The Bible is a window to see Christ.  The Holy Spirit will bring back to our remembrance the Word of God, but we must have studied it in order that it might be brought to our minds.

We live in a world that is ruled by Satan and because of this, Jesus describes the Holy Spirit is a gift of peace.  It's a legacy left for us.

His peace is independent of circumstances.  The world's peace is dependent on circumstances.


In Him, we can have joy no matter what we are going through.  Without Him, we attempt to find joy and peace through our bank accounts, jobs, families, etc.


Principle #4:
Walking in Jesus' peace comes with yielding to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Every night I pray that God will send His Spirit to open your heart to the truths of His Word and that you will put your faith in Him!
Love,
Mom

Truth-filled Tuesday

Dear Finley,
We didn't have BSF last week due to the weather and my heart was so filled today after being without it for two weeks!  Reading and studying the word of God is like most habits... the more you develop it, the more you crave it!

Today's lecture was over John 13 and 14...

John 13 begins with the disciples arguing over who was the greatest... Isn't it interesting to see that Christ's disciples were soooo human?  They were definitely not perfect!

In this passage we truly see that Jesus was aware of who He was... He was fully God and still fully man.  This is important for us to realize because it is a reminder that Christ experienced everything that was common to man... common to us.  There is nothing we will go through that Christ didn't taste while on earth.

Jesus prepares to wash the feet of His disciples and not one of them thought to wash His feet.  He was the Master, the Teacher and so in this, Jesus paints a dramatic picture of His entire ministry... Yes, He came to teach, but He also came to serve.  He came to wash away our sins just as He washed the dirt from their feet.

In this passage, we see Peter say "Don't wash my feet" and he says this out of complete pride... not humility.  Jesus in essence tells Peter to trust Him even when he doesn't understand and this is a lesson to us as well.  Are we trusting Jesus even with our limited human understanding?  Peter then tells Jesus to wash all of him and we see that underneath the pride, he still has a heart for Christ.

At this point, Jesus declares that not everyone is clean because He knows Judas' heart...

2 Types of Cleansing:
Bath-- washed in Christ's blood
Feet-- daily confession of sins

We are bathed in Christ's blood and are forgiven, but we still must cleanse our feet each day of our daily sins.

The disciples were bathed, but Judas was not and yet, Jesus still lovingly washes his feet.

He was teaching us and them...
loving service and action.

We must take our eyes off ourselves and place them onto others.

HUMBLE service where God calls us should be our mission.

Principle #1:
In order to anticipate and prepare for Jesus' return, we must be willing to serve wherever God calls us in humble submission.

Am I giving God excuses instead of obeying?


Jesus predicts the betrayal of Judas.

Why?

In order to show the importance of fulfilled prophecy... to strengthen our faith in God.

The disciples all look for who would betray Him and they have no ideas...  WOW!  This shows that Jesus never treated Judas differently despite the fact that He KNEW all along Judas would betray Him.

Principle #2:
In order to anticipate and prepare for Jesus' return, we must allow Jesus to enable us to love our Judas with the love of Christ.

WHO IS OUR JUDAS AND HOW ARE WE RESPONDING?
WHO HAS LIED TO US?
WHO HAS BETRAYED US?
HOW ARE WE LOVING THE JUDAS IN OUR LIVES?

Next, Jesus predicts His departure.

On the cross, we see such a clear testimony that Jesus can take the most horrible event and use it to reveal God's glory when we submit to His will.


For the first time, the disciples realize Jesus is going where they can't go.

Jesus makes the statement that we must love others as He has loved us.  This is different than His original command to love others as we love ourselves.  He is now requiring us to love as He loves.

We are supposed to be loving others (especially believers) with a sacrificial love.  Why?  Because it is an evangelical tool.  When unbelievers see us loving other believers, they see Christ's love revealed.  How often do we hear unbelievers say "Why would I want to be a Christian when they act like that?"  We are known by HIS love.

Principle #3:
In order to anticipate and prepare for Jesus' return, we should be loving other believers as Christ loves us!

With countless forgiveness, endless comfort, numerous opportunities, etc. because that is how Christ loved us... 


Next Jesus predicts Peter's denial...

Peter says he will die for Christ and Jesus tells him that he will deny Him 3 times.  Jesus lets him fail to see it's not self-confidence, but God-confidence.  Peter figures it out in the end, but must fail in order to completely understand.

How many times do we fail because we try to succeed on our own strength?


Faith and fear do not go together!  If we are believing in Christ for our strength, we have nothing to fear!


Principle #4:
In order to anticipate and prepare for Jesus' return, we must accept that our life only has meaning because Jesus is going to return and take us to be with Him.

This gives us strength to face the day... To live in a way that God will say "Well done, my good and faithful servant!"

Memorize: John 14:1-3
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."


Lastly, we see Jesus answer Thomas and Philip with strong words.


Thomas asks "How will we know the way?"  


And Jesus responds and a very politically incorrect way...
He does not say that all ways lead to God.


He says:
There is only ONE way.
He is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE.


Philip asks "If we could just see God?"


And Jesus replies:
"If you've seen Me, you've seen the One who sent Me."


Principle #5:
In order to anticipate and prepare for Jesus' return, we must be trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, doing works in His name, and constantly bringing our needs to Him in prayer.

I love you, my sweet girl!  May you know His word and live it out in your life.  It is my prayer that every day God will enable me to set before you an example of God's grace and truth.
Mom

Truth-filled Tuesday

Dear Finley,
As I was sitting in BSF today and absorbing the TRUTH of God's Word, I realized once again how important it is that I pass on to you the only TRUTH that really matters. It is honestly the best gift I can ever give to you and was my plan when I started Life Lessons last Spring.  Of course, life got in the way and I haven't been very good about writing down what God is showing me.

As I was listening to the lecture today, it just occurred to me how big of a priority it is for me to take the time to record and reflect on God's Word so starting this week, I am going to start writing you a letter each week after BSF so that I can do just that!  Granted this is probably more for my benefit at the moment than yours, but that's why I am going to write it in letter form... so one day we can both go back and discuss these wonderful truths of God's Word that were written for our benefit... to correct and inspire.

Today we discussed John 12.  You'll probably want to read it for all of the following to make sense... my notes are a bit choppy! =)  This is such an amazing chapter on the true personal nature of Jesus.  My desire is for you to not just have a Biblical knowledge of our Savior, but to have a true personal relationship with Him!

Principle #1:
Jesus notices, remembers, and is blessed by our acts of costly worship!

Mary anoints Jesus' feet with her perfume.... perfume worth one year's salary and probably her entire dowry.  She does this because she LOVES Jesus.  She wants to show gratitude to Him for raising Lazarus and because she knows His time is near.  In many ways, Mary shows more worship of our Savior than even His disciples did because she took advantage of the opportunity to worship Him!

After she anoints Him, Judas criticizes her for wasting that money.

Criticism almost always reveals an inward problem.  Sweetie, this truth was so convicting to me because I know I can be so critical sometimes.  When you find yourself being critical, make sure to examine the underlying reasons.  Is it because of insecurity on your part?  Because it's easier to criticize than understand?

Always remember that He sees when we make sacrifices for Him.  He sees when we wake up earlier to spend time with Him.  When we give up something for Him.  When we don't buy ourselves something so we can give to Him.

What fragrance fills your house?  Does Jesus linger or is it worry, fret, anxiety, or hurriedness?

We must according to Hebrews 13:15 "Give Him the SACRIFICE of praise."  Even God realizes that sometimes it is a sacrifice and He honors that.

Principle #2:
Sovereign Jesus is in charge and He deserves to be worshipped in true joy.

In this chapter, we also see Jesus coming in humility and as a servant riding on a donkey as the crowds sing Hosannah.  He is the perfect fulfillment of the OT.

We must remember that if we expose ourselves to Scripture, the full picture becomes clear.

His light shines brightest through those believers who are in the midst of darkness.

He calls Himself the Son of Man... He is the only one who refers to Himself in this way because He loves to identify Himself with us.  Once again... we serve a personal Lord!!!!!

Take joy in the fact that He wants you to come before Him and be in His presence!!!!!

Principle #3:
Real worship is daily dying to self in order to fully follow and glorify Christ.

He put Himself into the ground in order to produce life for us.  We must therefore die to our self (die to our hopes, joys, desires, etc. and seek what God wants in our life... asking Him to fill us with His desires!) in order to truly live.

Jesus says "My heart is troubled" as He faces His death and resurrection even though He knows that was His whole mission on earth... His heart is still troubled by the idea of being separated from God for the first time!

When we are going down a path that we never wanted to go down, we must as Jesus did say "Father, be glorified!"

Principle #4:
The worship of our Sovereign Savior deepens our understanding of God's ways.

Lastly in this chapter, we see the continued refusal by the Jews to worship Jesus.  No matter how many miracles Jesus performed or how many OT prophecies Jesus fulfilled, they made the choice to not believe.  Why?  Because the Israelites CHOSE to reject God and therefore, God blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts to the TRUTH.  Throughout the Bible, we see God's Sovereignty versus Man's Responsibility.

If we do not allow the TRUTH to invade our souls and live by active faith, we will miss His glory (and waste our trials and tribulations) due to our choice to let our souls be hardened and our eyes be blinded!

I love you, sweet pea!
Mom

Does God Speak to You?

I recently read "The Passion of Mary-Margaret" as I blogged about Here.  In the book, Mary-Margaret has a very unique relationship with Christ... she has conversations with Him... sitting right next to her.  She sees Him just as she would see any of her friends.  

I can't say that Christ appears next to me, but I can with absolute certainty say that He does speak to me.  

And I hope He speaks to you.

Sometimes He whispers and as I am apt to do, I ignore the quiet, sweet words... completely sure that they are in my head.  Sometimes He almost yells to get my attention and though I'm more likely to stop and listen, I also have been guilty of ignoring His sweet, but loud voice.

Frequently, He will speak to me through my friends and family.... though I suspect that they probably do not even realize this fact.  I don't think it is mere coincidence when someone close to me reveals something that God is teaching them about a problem that I too am facing.  It is beautiful, Divine intervention and I take it seriously.

More often than not, however, He speaks to me through His word.  It's amazing how clear His voice becomes when I am in a constant quiet time.  I feel Him point me to what I need to hear... what He needs me to know.  He gives me that perfect peace in a world of chaos.  

And yet, recently, He has been speaking to me through a song by Matthew West.  It's called "Motions".  I immediately liked this song when I heard it.  Sure, it is a popular song on the Christian radio stations right now, but I don't think it is by mistake that I have flipped through my 3 preset Christian radio dials to hear this song on each of the stations within a short 20 minute drive to run errands.  3 times on 3 different stations in 20 minutes!  God was clearly speaking... and I am ready to listen.  I have a ministry to a precious little girl who is going to look to me for the example of how to live.  I don't want her to see me going through the motions... anymore.

Does God speak to you?  

I hope He does.

Here is what He's been saying to me:

This might hurt, it's not safe

But I know that I've gotta make a change

I don't care if I break,

At least I'll be feeling something

'Cause just okay is not enough

Help me fight through the nothingness of life

I don't wanna go through the motions

I don't wanna go one more day

without Your all consuming passion inside of me

I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,

"What if I had given everything,

instead of going through the motions?"

No regrets, not this time

I'm gonna let my heart defeat my mind

Let Your love make me whole

I think I'm finally feeling something

'Cause just okay is not enough

Help me fight through the nothingness of this life

'Cause I don't wanna go through the motions

I don't wanna go one more day

without Your all consuming passion inside of me

I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,

"What if I had given everything,

instead of going through the motions?"

take me all the way 

(take me all the way)

take me all the way 

('cause I don't wanna go through the motions)

take me all the way 

(I know I'm finally feeling something real)

take me all the way

In It For the Long Term

(I don't have a recent family photo so you'll have to imagine these two meshed together since these are the most recent pictures of each of us with Finley.)

So each week, I'm going to start trying to post something that God is teaching me.  I feel like I am constantly learning little (and big) lessons in life, but rarely take the time to reflect on them.  

One of the main reasons I blog (as I know I've said over and over) is to keep a record of what is going on in our life and I love being able to look back and see how God's hand was a part of it all.  Sometimes "in" the situation, it is difficult for me to see all that He has taught me and I hope that one day when I show Finley her baby book (i.e. this blog.... yes, I back it up so that I have it saved for her. Hee, hee!), she will be able to know how meaningful these days were for us.

Yesterday, I read the following quote during my quiet time...

"His purpose is not that you will do more for Him but that you will choose to be more with Him."

Wow!  

There have definitely been times in my life where I was trying my best to "do."  Where I was signing up to serve on every church committee or trying to be a part of every Bible Study offered.  Obviously, that is not a bad thing, but I was guilty of believing that it was the way to be closer to God when His main desire is for me to be in a constant relationship with Him... to spend time with Him, to love Him, to focus on Him, to CHOOSE to be with Him.

What I love is that this is true of many of our relationships.  This quote reminds me to not get caught up in what I need to do each day, but focus on building a lasting bond as Devin's wife and Finley's mother.  Sometimes I get so focused on what I need to do for my family when really it is more about the time I spend with them.  It is about the memories and relationship I create with them and not all that I need to be "doing".  

I am a "doer".  I like my check-list, but it isn't what is going to be important in the end.  Just as spending alone time with God is essential to maintaining fellowship with Him and learning what I can "do" for Him through that time, God is reminding me of what my main responsibility is...  it is creating lasting relationships.... it is abiding in them... to be in it for the long term.  

"His purpose is not that you will do more for Him but that you will choose to be more with Him.  Only by abiding can you enjoy the most rewarding friendship with God and experience the greatest abundance for His glory.  To abide means to remain, to stay closely connected, to settle in for the long term."  Bruce Wilkenson