Duty or Delight Weeks 3 and 4

SOOOO....
My auto post did not work last week! SO, I am combining two weeks.

Weeks three and four were the turning point in this study for me. What I mean by that is that these two weeks were the point where this study began to take root.

In week three we explored the confidence booster I Am Promised. Of the six promises we dove into, two were extra special to me.

First, was in the very beginning of our homework.

God is our faithfulness. Particularly this quote from page 63

"His blood is our only hope for security before a holy God. We cannot keep God's righteous requirements no matter how hard we try."

Have you ever tallied up your Christian "Scorecard"? Oh come on, you know

church attendance - check

prayer - check

Read (or glanced at my Bible) - check

These are good things! Necessary things for a growing Christian. BUT...

They have NOTHING to do with our eternal security. Nothing. Hear me out.

Only the blood of Jesus changes our eternity.

We can keep a near perfect "scorecard" our entire life, and spend eternity in hell.

If you have not acknowledged Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, friend...eternity is not going to be pleasant.

I cannot and you cannot keep a perfect scorecard. Our good deeds and well meaning intentions do not mean a hill of beans without Jesus Christ being Lord and Savior of our lives.

John 3:16 is for you. God so loved YOU that He gave His only Son so YOU will not not perish...but have everlasting LIFE. Jesus died for you.

Remember all those scorecard items? Church attendance, prayer, Bible Reading..

In my life those good things are now a delight. God uses each of them to teach me something, to challenge me, to chip away at the parts of me that do not represent Him well.

The second promise that really spoke to me in week three was number 6:

God is Our Inheritance and We are His.

It was such a tender reminder that we can ALWAYS know where we stand with God. You don't have to wonder if He likes you today. :) He is crazy about you.

Personally, this was a good reminder to keep my focus on eternity. In a world where so much value is placed on what you have or what you are achieving, I needed the reminder that God's opinion of me is not based on this world's view of success. He gently reminded me that my goal in life is to glorify Him with every breath and every step I take. When I take my last breath, I want to do so knowing my daughters, my family knows Jesus as Savior.

He is my inheritance, and He is more than enough.

Question Number 1: What promise meant the most to you and why?

During week four our confidence booster was I Am Supplied. We were given six areas where we could trigger more of the Holy Spirit's power in our lives.

This week. Oh, this week of homework. At times I had to close my book and walk away because what we were asked to do was H.A.R.D. but as I came back and pushed through...

God brought freedom.

If you did not finish this week's homework, let me encourage you to go back! Press on and through it! There is freedom waiting for you!

I will share one phrase from the 4th trigger "Inspect your crops often" that just made me say "YES" out loud in my car! It is found at the end of a series of statements on page 98.

SIN is duty, but repentance is delight

Isn't that truth?!

Sin is oppressive! We know when we are allowing sin to govern us. To DRIVE us. It is cruel. It lies.

Sin tells us that repentance (turning from) will be horrible. That what we will have to "give up" is worth the separation from God. Unconfessed sin keeps us from LIFE.

But God sent Jesus so we could have LIFE. Abundant Life! A delightful life.

Repentance can become a delight. Is it hard? Well....if you completed your homework you know that it can be hard!

But honestly, it is so worth it. Why?

Because after surrender and repentance comes transformation.

God loves us too much to allow us to stay in the condition we are in! When we come to Him with a sincere repentant heart, He begins a work of transformation in us. Talk about a makeover. :)

The God who created this universe, wants to transform our hearts so we can adequately reflect His glory.

And...

He is delighted to do so.

Question #2: This is a personal question...Are you holding back? Are you hesitant to finish that portion of your homework that asked us to go face down in repentance? If so....why?

Question #3: How have the first four weeks been for you? HONEST answers only! :)

Thanks for taking this journey with us! I have enjoyed your e-mails...and I believe you will encourage each other so comment!

Duty or Delight- Week 2

How I pray this study is moving in your heart and soul! I found that this week, it was hard for me to get my scripture "down pat". :) OR word for word...so I am going to retype it here before we go any further.

Confidence Booster #2 I Am Redeemed!!!!

Power Verse #2 Ephesians 1:7-8 We have redemption in Him through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

Acceptance and Satisfaction. If we are all honest, those two things have been or ARE part of our motivation for life.

We all want to be accepted. To fit in. To feel like we are an important part of something. At the same time, we also want to be satisfied. Satisfied in our relationships, our jobs, our family....our "religion".

Tammie describes acceptance and satisfaction as "Cavernous Hungers" that tug on our human soul. Goodness knows I could share example after example of trying to satisfy those hungers. BUT, I can also look you straight in the eye and say the only way those hungers will ever be satisfied is with THE One and Only...Jesus Christ.

This week we dove into three statements. Eat More Bread, Drink More Blood, and Remember Your Redemption. Each of these sections had WOW moments for me,but Drink More Blood was my standout section.

Revisiting the cost of Jesus sacrifice for MY sin was much needed. I believe that if we are not careful, over time we can become almost numb to the magnitude of His sacrifice. That is a very dangerous place for a Christian to be.

We look back not to glorify past sin or heap guilt upon ourselves..NO. We look back to awaken or stir our hearts to gratitude! Sometimes we need WAKE UP OUR ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE!

Why?

Because today, yes today...

There is someone who needs to hear that Jesus loves them right where they are. They need to hear that regardless of what they have done or haven't done....

His blood is enough. He died to ATONE...(fancy word for cover, cleanse, reconcile and to FORGIVE) our sin. ALL of it.

EVERY last one. Jesus is enough.

If we have become numb to this in our own life then how in the world can we effectively share the power of the gospel with another? May we never forget.

As I prepared for Tuesday morning's group God gave me a few verses in Psalm 65. This Psalm was part of my daily reading..it was "assigned". :) I can not express to you how excited I was to SEE our first two confidence boosters referenced in these verses.

Here is Psalm 65 (ESV)

Praise is due to you,[a] O God, in Zion,
and to you shall vows be performed.
2 O you who hear prayer,
to you shall all flesh come.
3 When iniquities prevail against me,
you atone for our transgressions.
4 Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!

From verse 4 Blessed is the one you choose...Booster #1 I Am Chosen.
From verse 3 you atone for our transgressions.....Booster #2 I Am Redeemed.

Oh friend, I am praying that today you realize just how precious you are to your Savior. He went to great lengths to Redeem you. You can, as verse 4 says be satisfied with the goodness.....He is enough.

Alright enough of my rambling. I want to hear from you.

First. Which of the three statements meant the most to you and why?

Second. Take some time to watch this video. The lyrics to this song have been on my heart for two weeks. Let's not forget what Jesus did for us.

I pray that this song will move you into a personal time of worship of your Savior.