I haven’t posted weekend reflections for a while now but decided I would this weekend. As I was typing them out, this passage from James came to mind – may it be a help and encouragement to you as we continue on this Journey through God’s Word –
But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. James 1:22-25 NLT
REFLECTIONS FROM WEEK 2 OF THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER –
What do we learn when we see how Jesus took time out of His day to get away and pray?
How to anger and unforgiveness hinder your prayers?
How was the power of prayer exhibited in Acts 9:40? What does this teach us about the power of prayer?
When we pray for ourselves and others, what is one thing we should pray for based on Ephesians 3:16?
Why is it important to abide in Christ? How can we do this when we pray?
If you missed any of the posts for week 2 you can find them at the following links –
The Lord your God is in your midst; he is a warrior who can deliver. He takes great delight in you; he renews you by his love; he shouts for joy over you.”
Zephaniah 3:17 NET
Observations: The Day of Hope
Are these the things you believe about your God?
Do you know that He is in your midst, that He is with you?
Do you see Him as a mighty warrior who not only can but has delivered you from the power of sin and death?
Do you believe, despite what you know about yourself (and despite what He knows), that your God takes great delights in you?
Have you experienced the calming, renewing effect of His love in your life?
Can you hear Him rejoicing over you with singing?
Application: It’s all in the attitude
I’ve said it before but it bears repeating … What we believe will steer our attitude. We will either be shouting for joy at what God has promised that is yet to come and rejoicing over what He has already done – or, we will doubt who He is and miss all that He has for us while we wait here on earth – and possibly what He has promised those who belong to Him in the future. We must be intentional, write it down on paper or better yet, put it in the notes section of your phone. When doubt or fears arise and hope dwindles pull it out and read it as a mantra- Perhaps something like this …
God is my God and He is with me, my mighty Savior who takes delight in me, with gladness! I will remind myself often that it is in Him and because of His love that I find a calming peace and a renewal my spirit.
Me, from the inside-out
Prayer:
Father – how great is Your love! You dwell with me – my warrior who has saved me. I am Your daughter and You take great delight in me – even shouting for joy over me with song! I am forever grateful for your word and for Your messages and promises of hoped contained within it! –
Reflections:
What does Zephaniah 3:17 show us about God’s coming restoration? How can you find joy and proclaim His goodness today?
Lord, how happy is anyone you discipline and teach from your law 13 to give him relief from troubled times until a pit is dug for the wicked. 14 The Lord will not leave his people or abandon his heritage, 15 for the administration of justice will again be righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.
Psalm 94:12-15 CSB
Observations: God’s People
I think most of us, myself included, prefer the loving, kind, long suffering descriptions of God rather than the passages that boast or cry out for the avenging God, the God who pays back the proud. The Psalmist cries out for that in today’s passage and yet he also sings God’s praises, boasting of how blessed we are to be taught of Him, how He instructs in order to protect us from times of trouble until the wicked are destroyed. Clearly, as the Psalmist clarifies, God understands that it is hard to live among the wicked who constantly seem to flourish and even celebrate, while those who follow God struggle through, what seems like, one trouble after another. So it was quite refreshing and encouraging to reach verse 12 and the verses that followed, specifically through verse 15. To read of the one who receives God’s instructions, the one who is taught by God from His law is blessed with His protection from times of trouble, until the wicked are destroyed.
However, I think the most encouraging words in the passage aside from knowing He will protect us come in verses 14 and 15 where the Psalmist insist that God will not forsake us, restating it and clarifying that God will not abandon His people – those who belong to Him. The writer goes on to explain that while it may not look like it now – justice for the righteous will prevail! Our God will clear us of any blame or suspicion, He will make right the wrongs for those who walk in His ways.
Application: What does this mean for me?
While in this world it may seem like the ‘wicked’ – the ‘evil doers’, the ‘morally corrupt prevail in all they do’ but the upright suffer for their righteous living – there will come a day when the tables will turn and the upright, those who walk in the way of the LORD, will be vindicated.
Are you following God but facing one trial after another while others who follow only the desires of their hearts seem to flourish? If so, take heart and rejoice in knowing that our God reigns! He will neither forsake or abandon you and will protect you in your times of trouble and use them for His glory and your good.
Prayer: Our Response to God’s Word
Father, thank You that You have adopted us into Your family – that You have by grace through faith made us – or a way for us – to be Your people. For as surely as this promise was true in the Psalmist day so it is in ours! You will never forsake Your people. You will not abandon us because we belong to You. And though we wait for Jesus in this world full of sin – we continually wait with hope in Your promise to one day vindicate the upright.
Your Turn: Reflections:
How do you handle waiting on God?
Are you impatient, doing all you can to ‘help’ God out?
We first heard about Joseph when God “enabled Rachel to become pregnant” and give birth to a son in chapter thirty. However, we didn’t really become acquainted with him until he was seventeen years old and dreaming dreams that seemed to imply that one day he would be in authority over his family and they would be bowing down to him. In our journey this week we have seen the reality of this dream not once but twice. We have seen the beauty of God’s sovereign control positioning Joseph just where he needed to be. We have witnessed Joseph’s raw emotions, we’ve watched battles with forgiveness, anger, sorrow, and fears, and we have seen bold steps of faith and surrender. Through it all we have seen God work in ways unimaginable to man as He positioned not just Joseph but his family and eventually the “nation of Israel” exactly where they were meant to be. Oh how I hope that you are enjoying this journey and the history of God’s people and our faith. I pray that you are finding hope for your battles – in seeing that God is in control, working everything completely and perfectly together for His people and purpose.
*I invite you to message me if you do not know know Jesus as your Savior, or if you have questions concerning faith
PREVIEW: Week-6
During our final week we will continue to explore the reasons, ways, and benefits of Choosing God Instead Of The World . We will travel the rest of the way through Genesis forty-six and complete the journey in chapter fifty with a few detours through other Old and New Testament passages. May He open our hearts and minds to see Him all along the way.
IF YOU MISSED ANY OF THE POSTS or LGG Blogs YOU’LL FIND THE LINKS BELOW.
In week three we have seen everything from reconciliation to horrific revenge, the difference between choosing life and death, the benefit of holding on tightly to our faith, and the importance of being faithful even in a little thing. With all of these lessons we have seen the wisdom in choosing God instead of the world in our own lives.
A Look AheaD to week four
As we move into week four we will get to know Joseph and see his extraordinary reaction to the horrifying and challenging events of his life. We will read shocking details about the life of Judah, another of of Jacob’s sons, and get a glimpse of God’s fingerprints in the outcome generations later. We will also listen as Joseph moves from dreaming dreams to interpreting the dreams of others.
Your turn: (Comments are welcome below)
What stood out to you this week from the story of Jacob?
What were your early impressions of Joseph?
What benefits or reasons are you seeing for choosing God instead of the world?
This week, through the continuing saga of Jacob and his family we have learned the wisdom of setting our mind on Things Above instead of things on the earth that tend to draw us away from God. We have learned how God wants us to honor Him with what He’s given us, even when we aren’t completely satisfied with what that is. We’ve seen the difficulty and yet the benefits of loving others in the way we live and not just by the things we say. Without question, we have seen how we must trust God’s promises if we are going to choose His ways over the ways of the world, especially in times of fear and difficulty. On our final day – probably my favorite – and a great summation of the week – we witnessed God giving Jacob a new name and we learned that sometimes even when we walk away limping from a battle, prevailing can be determined by how long we stay in the battle. Those who hold on to God and don’t let go receive the blessing.
Preview
During our third week we will dive into Genesis 33 and wind up the week in Genesis 37 with the story of Joseph’s dream. , We will hear from authors of the New and Old Testaments along the way – as we continue to explore the ways and benefits of Choosing God Instead Of The World .
If you missed any of the posts you’ll find the links below.
As we read about Hannah, Anna, Rachel, Hagar, and The Woman at the Well this week we learned the need to stay surrendered to God in prayer. Prayer is the act of seeking God, and as Hanna learned, it requires that we keep our eyes on Him and not the people or situations of our lives. Continual prayer, as we saw in Anna, keeps our cares in God’s hands and not our own. Because Anna lived this way and wasn’t caught up with the cares of the world she was acutely aware when she was in the presence of the Long awaited Messiah and she was free to make Him known to others. While we heard Rachel call out to her husband for a child rather than God, we see that God still took notice of her and became the “hero of the story” for Rachel – who acknowledged with “Joseph”, the name of her firstborn, that she knew exactly who was responsible for making her a mother. When we see God work on our behalf it strengthens or perhaps awakens our belief in Him. Through Hagar we witnessed the beauty of knowing God sees us and how it plays such a vital part in our prayer life with Him as it gives us hope and strength and peace in our journey. Finally, it was was the woman at the well that reminded us to keep our eyes, not on our past(regrets or shame) but on what Jesus can do, has done, and will do for us who believe.
Living like this doesn’t mean we will not face struggles in our lives but rather that when we do we will pour out our souls to Him rather than live in anger, resentment, doubt, fear, shame, self-centeredness, or disbelief. Making our lives a lifestyle of prayer will lead us to the perfect peace as both Isaiah and Paul talked about in their writings when they said:
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You.
Isaiah 26:3
Don’t be worried about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for what He’s already done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
If you missed any of this week’s devotions from me you’ll find them at this link
If you missed any of the Love God Greatly Blogs for week 3 you’ll find them at these links:
Reflections from Week 2 of Beautifully Surrendered
A Love God Greatly Bible Study about God’s Heart for His Daughters
Through Elizabeth, the Canaanite Woman, Rabhab, Ruth, and the Bleeding Woman we have seen how God's heart is moved by our faith. We have witnessed His blessings of miraculous pregnancies, healing of a demon possessed daughter, salvation of a prostitute who by faith protected God's people, the remarkable devotion of a daughter-in-law, and the simple yet healing act of touching the hem of a garment. Each incident fueled by the faith of women - faith not in themselves or others but in God.
References: Luke 1:5-25,39-45; Matthew 15:21-28; Joshua 2, Hebrews 11:31, James 2:14-26; Ruth 1:1-18; and Mark 5:25-34 and 8:40-48
If you missed any or all of the week’s study check out the Scripture references listed above and/or find the blogs and all the details and links at mefromthensideout.com or by clicking on the links above.
WEEK 3 PREVIEW: WOMEN OF prayer
Now that we have laid the foundation of God’s love and concern for us as women and witnessed the effect of FAITH in the lives of Elizabeth, the Canaanite woman, Rahab – the prostitute, Ruth, and the Bleeding Woman, we will press forward to see how God honors the prayers of women. We will be looking at Hannah, Rachel and several others, whose lives were changed because they were women of prayer.
Our focus/memory verse is found in John 15:7 and is a wonderful promise from Christ that reminds us of the power of prayer when we are faithfully abiding in Him and praying according to His will. Unlike most weeks, this verse is not incorporated into the study so we will have to work extra hard to keep it fresh in our minds throughout the week. Don’t be surprised if you see it on the end of the daily posts. You’d be amazed at how seeing and/or reading something daily for five days helps us retain the message or truth posted.
Week Three Challenge
Our CHALLENGE comes from the focus verse again this week: Who in your life is a mighty prayer warrior? This week, take the time to encourage her and let her know how her prayers have impacted you.
If you missed any or all of the week’s study check out the Scripture references listed above and/or find the blogs and all the details and links at mefromthensideout.com or by clicking on the links above.
Week 2 Preview: Women of Great Faith
Now that we have laid the foundation of God’s love and concern for us as women we will press forward looking at how God has use and worked through the lives of women in Scripture. The first week we will focus on “Women of Great Faith”. Women like Elizabeth, Rahab, Ruth and others.
Our focus/memory verse is found in Luke 1:45 and is a beautiful statement of encouragement from Elizabeth to Mary. We will study the verse tomorrow and work on remembering it throughout the week.
Our challenge comes from the focus verse as well: Who in your life has shown great faith like the women we are reading about? Take time this week and reach out to her. Encourage her with your words, either spoken or written, and share how her faith has helped increase your faith.
Me From the Inside Out 