Bible study (chapters 5 & 6)

The past two weeks in our ladies' Bible study we've been looking at what it means to have intimacy with God and then how that should affect our lives as we grow in that intimacy. Here are some of the things that God is challenging me with . . .

Conscious repentance leads to unconscious holiness.

(Oswald Chambers)

My relationship with God should be characterized by conscious, continual repentance of the things that I have allowed in my life that break the heart of God. As I continue to draw near to God, I should become more and more like Jesus. My life needs to be a reflection of the One who loved me and gave Himself for me.

"If Christians lived according to their faith,

there would be no more Hindus left in India."

(Mahatma Ghandi)

This one really hit me! This did not come from a Christian missionary making an observation. This was from a great leader from India . . . he was curious about the idea of Christianity, but when he met Christians, he was disappointed. He saw too many people who claimed to be followers of Jesus and yet their lifestyles did not match up with their claims. How many people have I disappointed because I failed to live what I say I believe?

Here's a story that Joanna Weaver used in Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World that really captures the essence of what God is speaking to me right now:

The story is told of a young boy who approached an evangelist after a revival tent meeting. "Excuse me, sir?" the little boy said politely. "You said everyone should ask Jesus into their hearts, right?"

"That's right, son." The evangelist squatted down so he could looke the boy in the eye. "Did you ask Him in?"

"Well, I'd like to," the boy said, shuffling dirt with the toe of his shoe before returning his gaze to the evangelist. "But I got to figurin' . . . I'm so little and Jesus is so big -- He's just gonna stick out all over!"

"That's the point, son," the evangelist said with a smile. "That's the point."

That's the point . . . I want every aspect of my life to be touched by Jesus -- He's the only One who can bring lasting change in my life. And I want to live in such a way that Jesus "sticks out all over"!

What is my "one thing"?

Time for some more reflections on Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. Last Tuesday we read chapter 4, which focused on the "one thing" that God desires from us more than anything else -- ourselves. God created us for intimacy with Him. The problem arises when we fill ourselves so full of other things (even GOOD things) that our intimacy with Him suffers.

I know that I can do this. I can make myself so busy doing that I forget to be the child of God that He created me to be. And, as Joanna Weaver says, "I, too, can get so overwhelmed that my worship becomes work rather than delight, and devotion becomes just another duty." She talks about steps to take when life becomes overwhelming . . . I know that I need to practice these in my life:

1. Invite Jesus to rule and reign by inviting Him first thing in the morning to take the throne of my life, asking for His wisdom and guidance in setting the course for the day.
2. Ask God to reveal the next step throughout the day . . . by continual conversation with Him as to what my next assignment is.
3. Have faith that what needs to get done will get done because I have committed my day to Him and am purposing to obey Him. This also involves trusting that whatever wasn't accomplished was either unnecessary or is being taken care of by God.
4. Be open to the Spirit's leading . . . be flexible and alert to "divine appointments". Then I can enjoy the freedom of surrendering my agenda and cooperating with His.

When I was in college, I read a book called Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. The basic premise of the book is to look for what God is doing around you and purpose to join God in His work. These two books have some common themes -- anything I do hand-in-hand with God will bear fruit as I stay connected to Him and in tune with Him.

It's like the messages my husband has preached at church recently . . . when a branch is connected to the vine, fruit happens -- it's a natural, effortless occurence. the branch is just doing what it was created to do. Likewise, when I make intimacy with God my first priority, I will produce the fruit in my life that He created me to produce. And that's what I want to do! I want intimacy with my Creator to be my "one thing" . . . what's your "one thing"?

Why worry?

I am reading the most wonderful book right now . . . it's called Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver. I'm using it with a ladies' Bible study that meets in our home on Tuesday nights, and God is using it to speak to me about intimacy with Him.

Last night's chapter was on worry . . . I tend not to worry about things that much (just ask my husband -- I'm more likely to jump into something and figure it out as I go!) Anyway, I wondered what God had for me in this chapter, and of course, He will always speak when we are willing to listen! Here are a couple of quotes from the book that ministered to me:

Why is the Bible so adamant about our avoiding fear and worry? Because God knows worry short-circuits our relationship with him. It fixes our eyes on our situation rather than on our Savior.

We face legitimate concerns every day of our lives. But instead of fretting, instead of worrying, we need to focus on discerning what we can do (with God's help) and what should be left entirely up to God. Even more important, we need to keep our focus on who God is and what God can do. The bills won't pay themselves. But we serve Jehovah Jireh -- the God who provides. . . . There is plenty in this world to be concerned about. But we serve El Shaddai -- an almighty God.

Fretting magnifies the problem, but prayer magnifies God.

And my favorite quote of all was a quote by Corrie ten Boom: "Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden."

I was reminded in this chapter that the more secure I am in the love of my heavenly Father, the less I will tend to worry or fear the things I face because perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). I'm so thankful that God knows my every need and He will meet them all! So why worry?