Sunday Sharing: Plotting Against Jesus

Once again I read many interesting things this week in John 9-11, including the first time in history that someone ever gave sight to someone born blind, the analogy of Jesus being our good shepherd, Jesus declaring that He is the Son of God, the raising of Lazarus from the dead to prove it and the Jewish leaders' plot to kill Jesus!  Whew!  It sure is hard to come up with just one highlight for the week out of all that, but here it is:

(45) Therefore, many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what Jesus did [raised Lazarus from the dead], put their faith in Him.  (46) But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. (47) Then the chief priests and the Pharisees' called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.  "What are we accomplishing?"  they asked.  "Here is this man performing many miraculous signs."  (48) If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." 

 (49) Then one of them named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year spoke up, "You know nothing at all!  (50) You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish."  (51) He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, (52) and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one."  (53) So from that day on they plotted to take his life.  Therefore, Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews.  (emphasis added)

--John 11:45-54 (NIV)

I always thought the Jewish leaders were jealous of Jesus because many people were putting their faith in Him and he was gaining a lot of followers and the people would listen to Jesus rather than them, but it was really more than this.  In my Contemporary English version, the footnote to this passage explained that they were afraid Jesus was getting a lot of followers to rebel against the Romans and then the Roman army would come and destroy their temple and their nation.  When Caiaphas talked about Jesus dying to save their nation, little did he know that he was prophesying about Jesus' death in order to save all people.  When I read verses 50-52, I thought of I Peter 3:18 which says:  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:   

The fact that God would leave His glorious heaven to become flesh and die a cruel undeserved death on the cross so I can be forgiven and spend eternity in heaven with God forever is just mind boggling and so amazing!  Amazing love, How Can It Be, that thou, my God should die for me!


Please share a highlight from your scripture reading this week in a comment or feel free to comment on this post.  Reminder:  The third segment of "The Bible" mini-series is on the History channel tonight at 8 p.m. EST.  I'm enjoying it! 

(other Sunday Sharing posts from the Gospel of John):
 The First Speed Boat
A Personal God
He Knows My Thoughts

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Marty Mouse Goes To Church

Our youth pastor spoke about how God has chosen us before the creation of the world to be His adopted children with the help of Marty, his mouse.   Ephesians 1:4-5 says:

According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love; Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.

I loved his object lesson and having the mouse up there next to him as he preached helped keep our attention.  The mouse was cute and very active, walking around his cage and spinning on his little wheel.  Gerard was impressed that he actually went to buy a mouse to assist with his sermon.

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Abortion: Where Does It Fall--Black, White or Gray

Initially, I would say abortion is a sin because it is intentionally taking a human life which is called murder. Do not kill is one of the ten commandments God gave. Certainly, God knows every fetus (Psalm 139:13-14). After all, He is the one who creates us and chose us before the foundation of the world. (Ephesians 1:4)

Then I hear the pro-choice reasons that in some cases, it is okay. Such as what if the doctors can see there will be brain damage? What if it’s an unplanned and unwanted pregnancy? What if the doctors can see physical defects? What if the mother was raped?

I’ve come to the conclusion that there are absolutes and God has not changed what sin is. In God’s eyes, there are not gray areas, only people make gray areas when something they want to do doesn’t fall in line with what God says to do.  We call it “situational ethics” but God calls it sin. We rationalize and question God’s judgment but have no right to do that because God is sovereign, knows the future, has a plan and created us to do good works that he planned for us to do (Eph. 2:10).

(image source:  all free clip art)

At our Women of Wonder meeting at church this month, we had a volunteer from the Cleveland Pregnancy Center speak about that organization and all the services it provides who I know personally. It was a powerful presentation because she shared her personal experience of being born to a 12-yr-old girl who was raped. She shared how the second chapter of The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren helped her realize that she was not a mistake! She obviously is passionate about helping woman carry their babies full-term regardless of the circumstances.

How do you feel about abortion?

Books on this topic:
Unplanned, The Dramatic True Story of a Former Planned Parenthood Leader's Eye Opening Journey Across The Life Line
Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker (deals with questioning beliefs and hating the sin but loving the sinner)
Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult (Would the mother have chosen to have an abortion had she known her daughter would have a rare disease?)The Purpose Driven Life (chapter 2) by Rick Warren

Related Posts: Will God Forgive Abortion?
Go 180

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Sunday Snippets: Why Praise God?

Praising God somehow brings about an inner satisfaction.  Praise gets our focus on God and off ourselves which can greatly improve our mood. 

My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. Psalm 63:5 (New American Standard Bible "NASB")

You can always praise God for His love because nothing can separate us from it.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Rom. 8:38-39 (NASB)

You can always praise God for his help. 

For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.  Psalm 63:7 (NASB) and

so that we confidently say, "THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID,  WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?" Hebrews 13:6 (NASB)

You can choose to always praise God like David did:   

I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands. Psalm 63:4 (King James Version)

Be sure to come back tomorrow to see a good illustration of how this really works in my life.  

 

Source:  10/23/11 Sermon Notes, message by Pastor Dan Barfell.

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Spruce Up Your Bible

There are many Bibles around, but none like mine!; That is because I have made mine very personal to me and therefore precious. Some people do not want to mark in their Bibles, but I am glad I am not one of them!

HOW TO HIGHLIGHT VERSES:

Some people use highlighters or ink to mark their Bibles but I found colored pencils or crayons work much better. When marking with highlighters, always use a light color such as yellow.; If I do underline something with ink, I found that using a straight edge makes it look much neater. (I have one Bible that I use ink to underline.)

I learned long ago that the flair pens bleed through the page and tend to look sort of messy. (That’s what I used as a kid.) Colored pencils work very well and there is a wide variety of colors that you could use to underline verses. Crayons are my favorite though because they cover quickly and provide lots of color choices.

THINGS TO MARK:

1. Memorized verses. Every verse I memorized I mark because if I made the effort to memorize it, I think it’s worth reviewing.  By marking it, I review it again when I see it and it also helps me to find it if I forget the reference, not that you would ever forget the reference, but you may.  If I forget the reference, I can usually remember the book and if it’s marked, it makes it easy to find it.
2. Salvation verses. I like color coding so colored the salvation verses with red. Starting with John 3:16, next to it I list the reference of the next salvation verse (Romans 3:23) and so on. By doing this, I am always ready to share the plan of salvation using scripture if the opportunity should arise. It has been useful in teaching Sunday School and counseling situations.
3. Commands. Things to do or not to do that stand out to me are marked with blue (blue rhymes with do).
4. Promises. For God’s promises that “pop” out at me, I color with orange.
5. Truths about God. These I mark in yellow (reminds me of God’s glory).

MAKING NOTES:

Now, this is when I use a pen for making notes in the margin. I jot down sermon/class notes such as what some words mean, perhaps an object lesson or story illustration for a particular passage that I thought was especially good, the month/year that I marked the verse, or sometimes a situation I am going through when the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart through a particular verse or passage.

I realize I am a bit more organized and into color coding more than most people, but even if you don’t use my color coding suggestion, I encourage you to start marking your Bible your way and make it special to you. I immediately felt a connection with my "Circle of Friends" Adult Bible Fellowship (ABF) group leader who also encouraged the class to use colored pencils to mark our Bibles. The best part about taking time to do this is that you spend time in God’s Word.

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6 Things We Learned This Week 20 of 2011 (history, religion, cats, Synesthesis, food)

History

Do you know who was the only woman hanged in the U.S.? Gerard found out it was Mary Surratt when he read The Mary Surratt "Lincoln Assassination Trial" by Bryna J. Fireside this week.  Click the link to read Gerard's review of this.

Prayer Flags

I never knew about the Buddhist prayer flags until I saw a picture and read about them over at Red Pine Mountain. I kind of like the idea of using flags to remind people to pray. The wind blowing them giving blessings to everyone is a nice thought too, but I doubt if it really happens. I guess there are a lot of Buddist in Vermont. Mountain Woman said shes sees them everywhere.

1,000 Cats/Kitten Sanctuary

I just discovered another amazing animal sanctuary for cats and 30 dogs in California: Cat House On The Kings. This would be my dream job!  Lynea Lattanzio is the founder and has 23 volunteers to help her on 6 acres.  I wouldn't think the cats would want to get adopted when they have this place:

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Why Burn The Qur'an--That's Just Stupid!

When I first heard about a Pastor in Florida planning to burn the Qur'an today I was shocked and angry. I haven't heard if he went through with it or not, but I certainly hope he did not. I obviously am not Muslim but certainly people have the freedom to believe whatever religion they want without being persecuted for it. To purposely stir things up by burning the Qur'an serves no good purpose but wcould likely put a lot of lives at risk. This kind of foolishness by a Pastor is what gives Christianity a bad name. This is why I was angry when I read about this.

I discovered this video through Twitter yesterday and thought it was so good that I decided to post it here. I thought it was very well done and is a great reminder of what it means to be an American.




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7 Things I Learned This Week-#67

"Read More" Break

I discovered that the "read more" jump break that I see on a lot of blogs is available in Blogger thanks to a step-by-step post at Everyday Living. Here's the link if you are interested: How To Use Jump Breaks In Blogger. I had to add some more code to my layout HTML to get it to work because I had a custom design done. I'm using it on my older posts to help with loading time if they are long because as a reader, I don't like to have to click for more. Does it bother you?

Vermont Is The Least Religious State

I was surprised when Mountain Woman from Red Pine Mountain told me that Vermont is the least religious state. She sent me this link to USA Today which lists all the states in order. Mississippi is the most religious.

Good Use For Little Tins

Controlling My Chaos shared what I think is a great idea this week in her post Crafty Storage For Small Things. She suggested using small tins for those card games that are in boxes that are falling apart. I have a few of those and some small tins I didn't know what to do with. Now I do!

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Tough Question Series: What Does God Really Think About Women?

“What does God really think about women” is the tough question Pastor Dan preached on August 2 at Parma Heights Baptist Church. Other “sub-questions” under this one included Does God think women are lesser than men? How can God understand women/females if He is Father/Son and has no feminine qualities? It is commonly thought that the Bible is sexist and God is sexist but that is not the case.

Pastor Dan went to Genesis for the answer.

Man needs Help:

Pastor Dan gave a funny example of how his wife helped him get through the automated toll booth and figure out the toll. It was a funny illustration.

Everything God created in the beginning was good except the fact that Man was alone. The Lord god said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. (Genesis 2:18). Note, creating women was God's idea.

By referring to women as helpers, elevates their worth as opposed to lowering it. Helper is not the same as servant. Many verses use the same word to describe God himself and that does not in any way mean God is servant to man. (See Psalm 33:20, 37:40, 70:5, 115:9, 121:2 and 124:8)

Adam was incomplete in his ability to bear God’s image:

Pastor Dan pointed out how different men and women communicate by relaying a funny example of taking about a hair cut. If a woman tells a woman she got her hair cut, they can go on discussing haircuts and styles for quite awhile, but if a man tells a man he got a hair cut, the reply would most likely be “a haircut, hmm” and that would be it.

So God created man [mankind] in his own image . . . male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:27) Pastor Dan pointed out that generally the following traits are reflected in men and women which together reflect the image of God:

Men GENERALLY:
desire to conquer
Value justice
Provide
want the truth

Women GENERALLY:
Love
are compassionate
are nurturing
follow their intuition
Show mercy

So where did all the conflict between the sexes come from?

Genesis 3:12-19 when Adam and Eve first disobeyed God in the garden by eating from the tree he told them not to eat from, Adam blamed Eve. In conclusion, Pastor Dan quoted John Piper at www.soundofgrace.com/piper89/5-14-89.htm:

The result of sin and the curse of our age is conflict between the sexes. This verse (Genesis 3:16) is not a description of the way things should be. This is a description of the way things are going to be while sin reigns. Dominating men and devious women. This is not the meaning of male and female in God’s image It is the ugliness of sin. But it points to Christianity because it begs for the healing that only Jesus brings.

If you’re in the Cleveland area, stop by and visit Parma Heights Baptist Church. We’d love to have you!

Are you a good helper to your husband? How has your wife helped you lately? It seems I'm always helping Gerard with something--fixing things, attaching Abby's leash, navigating to new places, making phone calls, posting his book reviews and giving computer assistance when needed, etc.

Other Tough Questions in Series:
Why Doesn't God Heal Immediately?
Will God Forgive Abortion?
Why Get Baptized?

God Only Made One You--What An Awesome God He Is!

I heard this song "God Only Made One You" on the radio when we went to the library and I thought what a great thought that is, I should do a post about it. "God Only Made One You" is one of the songs Gerard taped from the radio for me before we were married and I think it's is such a cool song. Here are the lyrics to this kid's song:

There's no one like you with your special smile;
There's nobody else that has quite your style.
There's only but one who's wearing your face,
in all of the world no one takes your place.

Chorus:
There is just one you.
Not 20 not 10 not 2;
in all of the whole world through,
God only made one you.

When it comes to you there's no duplicate,
although you may have your family traits,
Your mother's bright eyes, your father's physique;
But all put together you are unique. (chorus)

The things that you say, the thoughts that you think,
in most every way you're very distinct.
If one were to search they never could find
another like you, you're one of a kind. (chorus)

When I consider all the people of the world since the beginning of time and no two are exactly alike it is mind boggling how creative God is. We are all God's special creations for his purpose.

(Ephesians 2:10--We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hat before ordained that we should walk in them. (KJV)

For the music Click here

Self-Control (Living Beyond Yourself by Beth Moore)

Self-Control stops--say "That's Enough For Now." This last characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit is about mastery, authority and boundaries. It's not a question of what? but of how much?

In I Corinthians 6:19-20, our bodies are referred to as the temple of the Holy Ghost in us. Therefore, we need to take good care of our bodies to glorify God. We must not be mastered by anything according to I Corinthians 6:12 which says: Everything is permissible for me--but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered [controlled] by anything.

This could be a variety of things that control us. Some people struggle with all kinds of addictions such as smoking, drugs, alcohol, food, TV, the Internet, gambling. My struggle is the last two I mentioned. According to I Corinthians 6:12, a little bit is okay (although not necessarily beneficial--the implication being we should choose things that are beneficial). I must keep my guard up and exercise self-control in the amount of time I spend on the computer that takes me away from more beneficial things and keep a set limit for playing that football pool! Moderation is the key here. Instead of eating a whole pizza at once, which I easily could do, especially while watching TV, I limit myself to just two slices and save the rest for another day.

Beth used the example of Samson and Daniel to contrast a person who did not have self-control and one who did. Although Samson finally brought glory to God in his death, Daniel did it in his life as we are told to do in I Corinthians 10:31: Whether therefore ye eat, or drink or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Each morning we choose who we will serve--God or ourselves. "All sin boils down to an issue of authority. His will, or my will?" One point Beth made I felt was really good is that "any day not surrendered to the Spirit is virtually surrendered to the flesh by simple default!" That is why it is so important for us to seek God at the beginning of each day, confessing our sin, pouring out our concerns and asking God to fill us with His Holy Spirit so we can live beyond ourselves, letting Christ live through us! (see Galatians 2:20). Then through the day we should pray and praise God. At night, reflect on our day and see how God has worked.

What a marvelous and practical study this was! I highly recommend it!! God has so much for us when we completely surrender ourselves to Him!

Gentleness (Living Beyond Yourself by Beth Moore)

I always viewed gentleness like a gentle giant or a powerful horse under control. After this week of in-depth study, I discovered it is much, much more!

According to Beth Moore's "Living Beyond Yourself" study, Gentleness (NIV)/Meekness (KJV) can be summed up to mean "cease fighting God." The Greek word translated as gentleness is praotes meaning: an acceptance of God's dealings with us, calmness toward God in particular, complete surrender to God's will and way in your life, responsibility with power.

To summarize what I learned through this study, there are four key aspects to Gentleness which is the 8th characteristic in the fruit of the Spirit. These areas are as follow:

1) Submission-Gentleness is completely submitting to God. Jeremiah 26:14 puts it this way: As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right. (NIV)

2) Humility-This results from being rightly related to God and aggressive confession of sin. The Hebrew word translated as "humble" is Kana meaning "to bend the knee." The physical posture of bowing down before God can have a great impact on our spiritual stature.

3) Teachability-The gentle person is willing to receive instruction. She gave Paul, Aquilla and Priscilla and Apollos as examples of this using Acts 18. David accepted tragedy and failure as a challenge to search God's Word (see Psalm 119). Also, we teach others with a servant attitude. I liked the line about using the Sword of the Spirit to fight Satan, not the believers! God's teachers are bound to God's opinion, the only one which truly matters because God's word is absolute truth and only God's word can sanctify believers (see John 17:17).

We are to teach others with humility, an attitude of submission, an awareness of our own sins and a forgetfulness toward the sins of our "flock" leaving condemnation to God and conviction to the Holy Spirit. (see Proverbs 16:21)

Faith (Living Beyond Yourself by Beth Moore)

This was a tremendous study on faith this week that really spoke to my heart and helped me to see that God is faithful and believable which encouraged me in my faith.

Faithfulness is believing the reality of a sovereign God. Hebrews 11:6 says And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

1) Our faith hinges on our belief in God's faithfulness. Realizing that God is believable is the key to faith. Since it is by grace we are saved through FAITH, and not of ourselves, it is the gift of God according to Ephesians 2:8, it's no wonder we can't prove there is a God. God planned it this way. If we could reason everything out and science could prove there was a God and creation, where would faith come in?

Hebrews 11:3 says, By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

This whole concept was an eye opener for me, to realize that God purposely doesn't answer all our questions or provide concrete evidence for everything so that it's only by faith that we can believe. Faith is really quite simple, it's just believing what God says is true. We come to God only by having a child-like faith in Him. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus is quoted as saying, I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Old Testament prophecies that are fulfilled in the New Testament makes God believable.

2) Our faith needs to be based on Who God Is and not on What God Does. A faith based on what God does will fluctuate based on whether or not God does or acts like we think He should. If he answers our prayer the way we want, then our faith increases, but if not, our faith is shaken. If something bad happens that we think God should have prevented and didn't, our faith is shaken.

That's why, if we base our faith on who God is, his character and trust Him that He is love and good all the time and sovereign and in control, then our faith will be strong and help us through those tough situations that come along. Isaiah 55:8-9 says:

8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. 9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

To me, I am glad our God is greater than us and wiser than us!

3) True faith takes action. To see this, all we need to do to see this is read through Hebrews 11 which is called the "Hall of Faith."

4) Fight the good fight of faith. Satan uses two weapons to destroy our faith: fear and familiarity. Satan uses our fear to believe God, fear of disappointment, fear that God might not "prove" His love to us, and our fear of humiliation to destroy our faith. Sometimes those who have known God the longest put limits on Him by only asking for "safe" things that don't take much faith.

When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, he gives us the characteristic of faith to believe God completely and use the "shield of faith" to quench all the fiery darts that Satan throws at us.

Kindness & Goodness (Living Beyond Yourself by Beth Moore)

These two characteristics are closely related so were taken together in the Beth Moore study. Kindness is described as being nurturing and tenderhearted. Goodness is actively doing good works. Ephesians 2:10 says For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (NIV)

God is kind, compassionate, tenderhearted. Sometimes we don't think of Him this way but in this study, some examples used that show his kindness were his dealings with Hagar and Ishmael as a loving Father, his compassion for Mary as she mourned and for Israel. (The book I just recently read, "The Shack" shows this side of God in a very unusual way.)

Kindness works together with goodness. The good works that God has prepared for us to do should result out of kindness towards others. Sometimes what is good may be painful, but it is always beneficial. The illustration used was when parents correct their child, it's for the child's benefit but not necessarily pleasurable. The tenderheartedness towards their child balances the correction.

Basically, when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, the kindness will motivate us to do good works. Goodness is actively doing good!

My good work the day before writing this was preparing for my Sunday School lesson, praying for some of my blogging friends who are going through difficult times and bringing a cookie home for my husband from my Bible Study.

What good work will you and I do today?

Patience (Living Beyond Yourself by Beth Moore)

Patience is from two Greek words: (1) "hupomone": meaning patience in circumstances meaning to persevere, bear up under, endure and is inspired by hope such as Job had; and (2) "Makrothumia" meaning long suffering, forbearance, self-restraint related to people and inspired by mercy. The fruit of the Spirit quality of patience is from the second word, relating to people. When we are filled with God's Spirit, he enables us to forgive others, show mercy to them as God as shown to us and thus be patient with them as God is patient.

I thought it was very interesting how forgiveness actually plays such a big part in showing patience to others. I never realized before either that patience was broken down into two separate categories in the Greek. I found that to be very interesting once I got into it and saw the difference.

God is patient with us and forgives us so it shouldn't be all that hard for us to forgive others. (Matthew 18:21-35 is the parable Jesus told about the unmerciful servant that this truth is based.)

To recap the fruits discussed so far, love never fails, joy cometh, peace rules and patience waits.

Peace! (Living Beyond Yourself by Beth Moore)

The third characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit is Peace.

One of the titles of Jesus way back in Isaiah is the "Prince of Peace." Jesus often said, "Peace be unto you." He also said, Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.--John 14:27

Peace comes to our hearts as we trust Jesus and submit to His authority. When Beth talked about this on the DVD, I thought of my new cat when I first brought him home. My friend said that he was upset because he was in a new place and felt he had to be "in charge of everything." Once he learned that I was the alpha in charge, he calmed down and let me pet him. He became less stressed. That's how it is with us. When problems come, we need to realize that Jesus will take care of them when we submit to His authority and give them over to Him.

Peace is not a lack of pain or grief though, but a lack of confusion and turmoil. Jesus went through a lot of pain on the cross and grieved when he saw people suffering but still had peace in knowing He was doing the will of His father. We too, can have peace in difficult situations as we keep our mind on Him. Peace comes with the authority of Christ in our life. The more we surrender to Christ's authority in our lives, the greater peace we have. When we obey God's word and seek to do His will, He gives us great peace.

Jesus' perfect peace in God's plan gave Him peace in His death. Before we can experience the peace OF God, we must first have peace WITH God by accepting Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for our sin that reconciled us to God. (Col. 1:19-20)

I love that we always have access to God through prayer and it is through prayer and submitting to God that we maintain peace in our lives. Philippians 4:6-7 says:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

This is just so amazing and wonderful!

I hope you will submit to God and experience his peace today regardless of your circumstances. I am enjoyed this Bible study by Beth Moore on Wednesday nights at my church very much so will continue sharing here what I learned with you. It's so encouraging.

Joy! (Living Beyond Yourself by Beth Moore)

Jesus and Others and You,
what a wonderful way to spell JOY!
Jesus and Others and You
in the life of each girl and each boy.
J is for Jesus for He has first place.
O is for others we meet face to face.
Y is for you and whatever you do.
Put yourself third and spell JOY!

This was a song we used to sing in Sunday School when I played the piano for grades 1-3. I was reminded of it when my Bible Study was on the second fruit of the Spirit--Joy.

There many scriptures about joy in the Bible. The supernatural joy Christians (followers of Jesus Christ) have as a sign of being filled with the Spirit of God has several dimensions summarized as follows:

Joy of our salvation in knowing our name is written in the "Lamb's Book of Life."
Joy of discovery of spiritual truths that God reveals to us through His spirit.
Joy of restoration after being depressed or forgiven for sin. Sometimes God's will includes hardships and trials to bring us to spiritual maturity.
Joy of abiding in Christ daily by being in close fellowship with him.
Joy in fellowship with other believers.

One point I found especially interesting in this study is that when people see the joy Christians have, they want that. Christians should be the most joyful, loving people on the Earth! Are we? I think many would say "No." If we aren't joyful, we need to get back in fellowship with God and be filled with His Spirit!

One final note. We have a great hope of God's future kingdom that brings joy. Those who trust Jesus as their personal Savior are children of The King! I remember my mom sharing with me that when she asked Jesus into her heart as a child, she went home singing "I'm A Child of the King." (John 3:12) Here are the words to the song:

I'm a child of the King,
A child of the King.
With Jesus, my Savior,
I'm a child of the King!

We look forward to the day when we all get to heaven and see The King in all His glory on the throne. What a day of rejoicing that will be!

We certainly have a lot to be joyful about! Rejoice in the Lord Always!

Living Beyond Yourself by Beth Moore--The Gray Areas

The Bible is very clear on some things but not so clear on others. When things are not spelled out such as what job to take, who should we marry, where should we live, which activities should we sign up our kids to participate in, there are principles to lead us. I personally believe the Bible to be the complete Word of God; consequently, I seek to live according to its principles and commands to bring glory to God.

The Bible gives many specific commands, but for those gray areas where it is not so clear, we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit who gives us the ability to perceive the things of God. He gives us insight and helps us to discern between right and wrong, good and bad. Therefore, it is a must that we not only trust Jesus as Savior but surrender to His will and ask Him to fill us with his Holy Spirit so we can be lead by the Spirit and not our selfish desires.

The fruit of the spirit or characteristics of the spirit that indicate we are filled with the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22, 23 NIV). In the following weeks, I will share what I have learned from this study about each.

Living Beyond Yourself by Beth Moore--The Holy Spirit

The key to living above our circumstances and doing things through God's power is to constantly be filled with the Holy Spirit of God and be lead by the spirit. Ephesians 5:18 says And be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. It is a command! It is an ongoing process.

First, pour out. We must empty ourselves. Get us out of the way so God can work and fill us with His Spirit. There are two parts of this: Confession and concerns. We do this by confessing our sin and gaining freedom from guilt. Then talk to God about all our anxieties, concerns, worries, problems and just basically pour out our hearts to him. She compared this to a drink sacrifice that God actually enjoys. He wants us to talk to Him about everything because he is concerned about us.

Secondly, pour in the Holy Spirit. Ask God to fill us with his Holy Spirit early, at the beginning of our day. Then through the day, constantly practice his presence and look for Him to work in our life. Remember God is in control and He is in control of us! Let him change our day!

Finally, pour forth. Go and be his servant and minister to others in His power.

This is what I learned in the Bible study by Beth Moore that women at Parma Heights Baptist Church participated in.

Did You Know God's A Morning Person?

WOW! I just finished the Bible Study this morning on the fruit of the Spirit, "Living Beyond Yourself" by Beth Moore which was absolutely packed with so many wonderful scriptural insights. The last study was on what a Victor's Day looks like which she based on Psalm 63 which I have included here:

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.
1 O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.

3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.

4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.

5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6 On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.

7 Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.

8 My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

9 They who seek my life will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.

10 They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.

11 But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God's name will praise him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
Three interesting points she made:

Start our day with God because:

(1) The Psalmist did.
(2) Jesus did and Ephesians 5:1 tells us to be imitators of God. He is our example.
(3) God's mercies are new every morning!
(4) By confessing our sin, emptying ourselves by pouring out our concerns to God and asking Him to fill us with His Spirit, we can go through the day with supernatural power and spiritual discernment with all the fruit of the Spirit ready to face the day.

This morning my main concern is my sister's double knee replacement which she is having done today. Her name is Michelle and your prayers would be appreciated. She is a cancer survivor and has many physical problems. This is one more for her to have to deal with. Hopefully, she'll be able to walk much better afterwards.

Throughout day praise God for who He is. She says she listens to praise music all day long, just to help keep her mind focused on God throughout the day.

At night, as the day winds down Beth suggests we reflect over our day and see how God worked in our lives, then record it. I have never done this last one, but maybe will try it. What about you? Have you ever done this?

I am considering reposting each week's summary of what I learned through this study here from my PNN blog since not too many of these readers read my oneZemeks Updates at http://karen.pnn.com. Please leave a comment to let me know if you would like me to do this or not. I'll let my readers decide, based on the comments I get. Please don't hesitate to say you wouldn't be interested--my feelings won't be hurt.