Hello ladies. I hope that you enjoyed your first week seeking him through the word, prayer, and devotion. I know that I sure have. This week was a lot of reading, as Beth mentioned throughout the study. But all the reading played a big role in setting the stage for what lies ahead. Trust me, it will be worth it!
There is so much to cover, so I will be summarizing the things that stood out to me the most. Feel free to comment on anything that I miss, so that other people can read about it as well.
Day 1: An Empty Garden
I posted on the first day about how God is always pursuing and seeking a relationship with us. He is knocking on our door every chance he gets, and there are times when we don’t even hear it. I know that is the case for me anyway. All the day-to-day stress and activities seem to muffle the knock on my door and there are times when I even ignore it. This is what I’m the most ashamed about! Why does it have to be so hard? On day 4 the answer came to me. Even though God is knocking and wanting us to “dwell” with him, Satan is counteracting and trying his hardest to keep that from happening. This is when the words of Beth Moore popped back into my head:
“Just as God sought the fellowship of his first children in the garden, He chooses yours. Right here and now. Whatever state you’re in. The God of the universe is seeking you.”
Again… The God of the Universe, the God of EVERYTHING is seeking you.
Day 2: A Perfect Heart
I am a mother of two beautiful children. I know myself that after having my children my heart grew 10 times bigger. I never knew of the love that they showed me. It’s as if it was a gift that God sent with them coming to earth. I realize now that this is what God must feel when it comes to us. We all are his children, and our children are his children! Matthew 6:21 says “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We are God’s treasure; therefore he loves each and every one of us with his whole heart.
Beth asks, “What is the human heart like apart from fellowship with God?” The first words that came to my mind were “empty” and “confused.” I can’t even imagine what my life would be like without God in it – I honestly don’t even want to think about that possibility. What are some of the answers that you all came up with to this question?
It was this day that Noah was brought into the big picture. We all know the story of Noah. And as Beth stated, “In the midst of all the wrong circumstances, Noah made right choices. Noah walked with God.” In walking with God he did exactly what God asked of him. Can you even imagine God coming to you and telling you that he wants you to build an ark so that he can wipe everything else off the face of the earth? This is one righteous man!
Well Noah did exactly as God told him and in the end we were all blessed with the everlasting covenant.
"Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth." (Genesis 9:16)
Day 3: A People for His Name
It was in this study that reminded me that this is why there are so many different languages, races, and nations. God scattered us all over the face of the earth because he felt that since these people tried to make a name for themselves, and also did it for the purpose of not being scattered over the earth – that they would try anything if he let it continue. God did exactly what they didn’t want – he scattered them.
I loved how Beth said, “We can either be a part of His program or a part of the problem?” Make your choice!
It was also in this study that Abram was brought to our attention. God asked him to up and leave everything that he had ever known. How many of us could actually do that?
Here is a question from Beth that I really sat and pondered for a while? Feel free to share your answers.
“Have you ever noticed that God often requires us to leave our comfort zones to answer our calling?”
“See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord” (Colossians 4:17)
Day 4: The Original Love Story
Instead of God crucifying me on the cross for all the sins that I committed, he chose to have his one and only son to do it for me instead. That is the most generous gift I will ever receive. Jesus Christ died on the cross not only for my sins and your sins, but for everyone’s sins. Everyone has two choices. You can either accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, or be forced to acknowledge him as Lord when he returns to this earth.
God has a plan for each and every one of us. We are not to do what we “will”, but what God “wills” for us to do. This is easier said than done, especially with Satan prompting us to go his way by going against God’s will. Just as Beth said, Satan wanted to be God so badly, so he tempts us beyond belief each and every day of our lives. He is the root of all sin and evil!
Beth Moore asked us to write a sentence describing the contents of Genesis 22.
He showed the depth of his love and devotion to God with the sacrifice he was willing to make.
Being a mother I know that I would do anything for my son and daughter, but I can’t even fathom the idea of sacrificing one of them. This had to be excruciating to Abram to give his one and only son – Just as it must have been excruciating for God to do the very same thing!
Does anyone care to share about a time you cooperated with God by denying your will and followed his leadership instead? How were you blessed through doing this just as God had blessed Abraham?
Day 5: On the Move
I am pretty sure that all of us have made a promise to someone that they couldn’t keep. I don’t recall any big whoppers on my part, but there are a ton of little ones that I know I’ve done with my son. I actually hate promising him something and then having to break that promise – it literally breaks my heart.
As for God making a promise to me – where to begin… I have a Bachelor’s in Nursing and a Master’s in Elementary Education but once I had my children I wanted to be Mommy. I prayed, cried, prayed, cried, and even hit depression with leaving my first born child. An opportunity came up for me to be able to work from home, and I knew it was God saying here is a gift, take it I promise it will be alright! 2 ½ years later I’m still working from home, and I thank God for giving me this gift.
Moses has had one incredible life and I love hearing about the events that took place as he walked with the Lord. He must have had one unbelievable experience. God blessed him and his people for what they had done after making their sanctuary for him by “dwelling” among them.
Beth said, “We will not fully realize sin’s cost sin until we finally sit at His feet and know the inexpressible joy of his presence. How can we know what we have lost until we have regained it?”
(Moore, Beth. A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place. Life Way Press: 2007)
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9 comments:
sarah, i'm literally about in tears as i read this... beautiful post!... thank you for sharing with us all that God laid on your heart!... this week... wow, was amazing! a few things that stick out most to me are that this... sometimes we base things on our circumstance instead of just choosing God all the time! by choosing God, we also choose joy, peace, love, patience... (the rest of the fruit of the Spirit, etc.) i think sometimes we forget that all these things are a part of choosing God!!!! and that leads to this.... we often think that the call of God is something HUGE like a burning bush, but do we think about the fact that moses was in a desert--far away from all that he new growing up, confused at what in the world was going on in his life--surely an identity crisis w/ leaving egypt, his true identity in the slaves he knew growing up.... that is where God lead him and that is where God called him! often when i think about the patriarchs of our faith, i only think about the "great calling" God gave them or the "great faith" they had.... but their lives were not all that different from mine--they had struggles, frustrations, bad circumstances, dysfunctional families, etc. too!!! they chose God--each day, they chose God.... this week has been such an encouragement to me and a good reminder to choose God!!! oh, and there's SO much more to... the huge part about God pursuing us, and often the hard circumstance we find ourselves in are a big part of God pursuing us too!!!!... i LOVED this week!! thanks again for sharing!...
ladies, I just wanted to let you know that amazon japan has failed me and cannot seem to get a copy of the book :( So if it ever does arrive, I will try to catch up, but I didn't want you to think I just bailed on all of you. I will pray for God to work through this in mighty ways!
Hello ladies,
I talked to Sarah last Sun (9/14) & told her that I wanted to be a part of the study. I am behind, but I will work on catching up. The blog is wonderful! Instead of reading the book & then the comments, I'll be doing the study in backward order which is not necessarily a bad thing. Your comments are great!
Kristin, I'm glad you could join us. This whole thing is a work-in-progress, so feel free to do things that is easiest for you. I'm sure we will periodically change things up anyway. Again, thanks for experiencing this journey with us.
I loved this week as well! I'm really looking forward to the rest of the study. It was amazing how each day spoke directly to my heart/life situation with things I definitely needed to hear!
Has God ever asked me to leave my comfort zone in order to follow Him? Gracious, this question always means something different to me. If I have trouble answering it, then it probably means that God is about to kick me out of my comfort zone again. Right now I'm feeling completely out of my comfort zone - life is so different than what I had adjusted to. But this week's study was a great reminder that God is building something up. That process does mean that I have to be broken down quite a bit - but I'm seeing in my life right now that there needs to be less of me and more of Him in everything that I do. I sure had let that go in the last few years - I feel that I was living pretty selfishly. I was letting my time with God slip by. Beth talked about all the things that we as women are expected to do - and how could we not believe that we can still live for Him? What an excellent start and focus for our study!
I just got my book, but also am working on catching up. I am so excited about this study. I just wanted you all to know that I complete enjoy the posts that have been put up. Thanks for all your work ladies!
I also have the first version of this study, but I have ordered the newer book & should get it soon. I just want to say that I am so encouraged by Abraham....because as Beth M. says, "he had the FAITH to believe in God's FAITHFULNESS! Abraham was freed to be faithful to God on the basis of his belief that God would always be faithful to him. And faithful He was" I needed to hear that again..this time in my life..this is the same God today as was then..he has not changed, nor will he change! Dave and I are going through some huge transitions right now, and I am reminded that God is still FAITHFUL & and I have the FAITH to believe Him!
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