Being Brave

I am going to walk out on a limb and share something with all of you that read.  If you have been following me for any length of time, you know and see that I obviously love to share and to write.  When we moved to Amory, I was invited to the Women's Community Bible Study.  Such a powerful experience exactly when I needed it!!!!  We were studying the book of Philippians.  One that I just love in the scriptures.  Well, during that study of the scriptures I found myself writing.  Writing not only the answers to the questions in the study but a "devotional" of sorts. 

It was exciting to see what the Lord would say and write through my pen.  It was such an experience! I have chosen to share this on this blog.  I am not going to share every one that I wrote but several of them.  I'm excited to be able to share my heart with you!  I am looking forward to this and I hope that you will check in and read!!!!!!!!  We will start tomorrow with the first entry.  I look forward to hearing from you!

3-D Part 3

OK, I hope you have been challenged. I hope you have been in His Word. Have you?  Let's get to this last little piece.  Go back to Acts 7:57-8:1
This is pretty short so I will type it out for you so you don't have to go back and forth to a link. 

"At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.  Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.  While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."  Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.  And Saul was there giving approval to his death."

 

 

Did you catch it?  Did you see it?  Did you see who is on the side-lines?  Yes ma'am....Saul is standing there giving his approval and holding the coats of those doing this.  Oh my goodness!!!!  It's amazing to me to think of someone standing in the crowd watching something like this.  As I think about that I am convicted of the times that I have been a part of a conversation that was not uplifting of another or tearing someone down. The question is.....Did I say anything or get away from the situation.  Father forgive me! 

 

 

I praise the Lord for Saul who became Paul.  Showing me that the Lord can use even me.  Saul is tearing apart the church, putting men, women and children in prison UNTIL that wonderful face to face meeting on the Damascus road with Jesus.  Praise the Lord!!!!!  There is something about that face-to-face meeting with Jesus.  Precious, Powerful, Sweet. 

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed working through these verses as much as I have.  They are indeed powerful and something to pray and consider.  His Word is Powerful!!!!!  Dig In It!!!!!!!

 



Be Quiet!!?? or Share Your Heart??!!

This past Sunday was one of THOSE Sundays.  I had read the Sunday School lesson and it had really sparked something in me.  It was several different feelings. It was disbelief. It was sadness. It was joy. It was just welling up in me and I couldn't stand it.  Well.......our poor Sunday School class heard it all. 

When it was over my sweet Hubby says.."Just share what you think" or something to that note.  I quickly told him to PLEASE elbow me, whisper in my ear or something to tell me to be quiet next time.  He said I was fine.  He was so sweet and supportive but I felt bad because I talked the entire time. It was about to explode and I let it explode in front of a bunch of people that hardly know us......

What got me like this........well, that would come from out Sunday School lesson.  I will type it out for you as a direct quote.  I realize that this person is a evolutionary biologist..  It still just rattled me. 

"In his book The God Delusion, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins emphatically states: "The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infantaicidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." 

I read this and it totally had me feeling a load of different emotions.  The reason that this was even in the book was the first part of the lesson talking and asking if you find the Old Testament sometimes hard to believe or understand.  The question was posed in the class if we leaned more toward the Old Testament or the New Testament.  Of course my first response was Old Testament.  Of course others talked about the struggle reading through Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.  Yes, they are difficult.  Yes, there are laws upon law. Yes there are all kinds of people in the books.  This is a series done in BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) called "The Life of Moses".  It was one of those times in my life when I literally saw The Word come to life!  I looked for Jesus in every weeks lesson.  Guess what?  He was right there.  Did they miss it?  Yes!  Do we miss it? YES!!!!  The other part is that He provided a way for us to not have to go to The Tabernacle every day with the animal sacrifices, the blood stream flowing out of the tent, the daily rituals that were told.  Instead, I can go to my High Priest at any time.  Sitting in the quiet of my house. Sitting in the car rider line. Sewing on my machine.  He is there and I can be in His presence.  Makes me that much more grateful for living on this side of the cross!!!!

The quote saddened me.  First, he is not a believer.  Second that anyone could believe such about my Savior.  Thirdly, some Christians don't read the Old Testament with the excitement and enthusiasm.  Yes, He is a God of Order and without it, our world would be chaos.  Yes, we get frustrated with the Israelites because they are short tempered, they try to take a short cut, they do things 90%.  Guess what, you and I are just like them.  We do the same thing. 

What about you?
Where do you like to read, Old Testament or New Testament? 
Why do you read that part? 
What is your favorite book?
What is your favorite verse?
If you have one, what is your life verse?
If you have one, what is your verse for your children?
For sure something to think about.  Are you looking for Jesus?  He's here!!!!!!
For our sweet Sunday School Class.....thank you so much for letting me share my heart on Sunday!!!

His Word is Alive and Active

One of my favorite scriptures is Psalm_______(anything).  I was looking this morning and it just seemed to leap of the page so I will lead us in a look at Psalm 34:1-3 in just a minute.  Yesterday, I had Community Bible Study.  WHAT A BLESSING! I knew when I went that I was suppose to be there.  We had literally just moved here.  I had looked on line for a Bible Study Fellowship class and there are none to be found except down next to the gulf and that is TOO far to drive.  I heard about how they do this class and that was just what I needed. 
Another amazing fact is that I had just posted about wanting JUST Him and His word and not what He said to someone else.  I needed to hear from Him.  It was clear in just talking to the sweet woman that I met the first day.  Her comment was something like....."We have done other studies but there is just something about just scripture and and questions."  Ok, I was hearing this and just about to jump up and down realizing that He had put me here.  God is so very Good!!!!!!! 
I hope that what you are reading and learning here is really helping you.  I hope that you are studying for yourself.  Get into His word.  YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY!!!!!!

Let's get started. 
Psalm 34:1-3.....Yes, I'll type it out for you.......hahaha

vs1-I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.
vs 2-My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
vs 3-Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.

I have highlighted some of the words that just leap on the page.  Another reason is the fact that they have these little tiny numbers in my Bible.  I have a Key Word Study Bible.  It is truly a treasure!!!  It has the Hebrew and Greek words in the back so that you can really dig into what you are reading.  It is just wonderful.  So, back to where we were. 

Extol- means to bless, praise, be blessed, to pray, to ask a blessing of.  We of course don't use the word extol in our everyday language and some don't even know what it means.  I know I didn't. 

Always- of course we know this one.  That is a given.  Here is means- duration, extension, continuance, continually, daily, at all times, without interupption......I'll let you chew on that for a few minutes!!!!!!

Lips- of course we get the physcial.  Here we take it a little farther---speech, testimony, external manifestation of an individual's character and disposition, whether good or bad. 

Soul- Life- breathe and be refreshed

Hear- give undivided attention, to understand what you have heard. to obey, give heed to

Glorify- Magnify- to make great and powerful.

Now you may ask why in the world would we go through all of that and the research and the reading and writing and digging.  Well, this is where it is all I can do to type this fast enough.  I get so very excited with the possiblity of sharing what scripture says..........

Let's look back at the scripture and put in some of the definitions that we have looked at........

I will give praise to the Lord at all times;
His praise will constantly, continually, daily, at all times, without interuption be in my speech, my testimony, a part of my character and disposition.
My life and breathe will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted give undivided attention to understand and listen and obey and rejoice.
Magnify and make Him great and powerful with me; let us exalt his name together.

DO YOU SEE?????  Can you contain yourself??!!!  I can't help but just want to shout.......His word is RICH!  His word is Powerful!!!!!!! 

May His Word Go Out Today!!!!

Bible Study

You have had a glimpse into what my time looks like. You have a list of instruments. You have a copy of His Word. So let's get started.

This is really simple and yet so very powerful.  I'll give you the outline of what you can use.  Then I'll give you an example of how to do it.  It's amazing to watch and see how something so simple can just simply change how you look at scripture and your time with Him.  This is not a time where I am worried about the red pen of the English Teacher.  I don't use complete sentences.  I write in abbreviations and fragments.  This is for me and my time. 

Let's get started.....

#1 What does it say? 
This is the easy part.  Do Not Make This Hard.  Literally list out on a piece of exactly what it says.  Don't change the words.  Write it just as it is written

#2 What does it mean? 
This is still easy and straight forward.  Main goal is to NOT ADD to His Word.  Write down what it means.  This does not require a Master of Theology Degree.  

#3 What does it say to me?
This is the the powerful part.  It's amazing to see how something so simple as these 3 questions could be.  Go  back and read over the sections that you just completed in question #2.  This is where it comes to life and the rubber meets the road.  This is application in the simplest form and it is just amazing.  Make it in the form of a question and then use it as a time of journaling.


Here is your sample..........

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whosoever believes in Him would have eternal life. 
John 3:16

#1- What does it say?
 God loved us so much.  He gave His One and Only Son.  Whosoever believes in Him=Eternal life.

#2-What does it mean?
 GOD LOVES ME!  He gave His Son. His One and Only. I believe=eternal life.

#3 What does it say to me? 
Can my mind comprehend that the God of this world loves me?
Do I understand He loves me so much that He was willing to send His Only Son?
Do I understand the sacrifice that He made for me?
Because of my belief of Him, I have eternal life.  Have I thanked Him for His love of me? 

Now I can take those questions from #3 and start journaling and answering the questions.  Praying while writing and really listen to what is flowing out of you pen and your heart.  The Lord can use it!!!  It's so simple but yet so very powerful. 

If you are looking for where to start.  Start in John, Luke or even Matthew.  Otherwise you can use the scripture that you are studying for a Bible Study or even Sunday School.

I would love for you to share.  Please share what you use.  Share if this is helpful!  I really want to hear from you.

Instruments

So, now that we are ready!  But you may ask....What do I need?  Well, that depends on you.  I have what I have always used and many are very different.  Some don't use much and that is fine.  Some use much more than me and that is fine as well.

First- PRAYER!!!  The line of communication should be wide open and ready!  Look for Him to speak.  Ask Him to clear your mind. Clean your heart.

Second-Your bible.  What ever version that you use and that you are comfortable with. 

Third- Pen- I know that sounds silly but you know how it is when you are writing and the pen doesn't "flow" like we want.  You have blobs of ink. It won't write at times. It can be a complete distraction so make sure that you find your favorite one.

Fourth- Index Cards- These can be used in several ways.  The first is to use just one to make notes on how you are using a legend while you study.  I will attempt to post my "card" that I use.  I have a color for words such as blood, sin, heaven, will and numerous others.  It makes such a difference when you are making notes as you go. 

Fifth- Colored Pencils- If you can find a set that has erasers, you will be happy you paid a little extra.  Color coding your Bible is such a treasure.

Sixth- Notebook of your choice.  It can be as simple as a one of the 70 page spiral composition notebooks or you can use a pretty journal.  Another option is just loose leaf paper.  It's whatever you are comfortable with.

Seventh- Questions- We will discuss that tomorrow..........Get ready!!!!!!!  I hope you are ask excited I am!!!!!!!