Do you have a routine?

A couple years ago I went to a 3 day Precepts training session in Chicago.  I asked the trainer, who is extremely experienced for 30+ years, how she time managed her homework and teaching.  She said that she has class on Tuesday, takes Wednesday off, and then does her 5 days of homework over the next two days (Thursday and Friday).  Then she has the weekend to prepare her actual teaching lesson.

At first, I thought this was a great idea.  Oh boy – I only have to do my homework over 2 days.  And I did that over the next 2 years.  But funny thing – over the summer with our Prayer study – I realized that this was not very effective for me.  I was rushing through the homework (just to get done) and then having to remember and recap everything for the lesson.  I did not have a consistent study time, therefore I always felt rushed, out of sorts, and not in a “groove” as far as bible study was going.

Just this summer – I got into the habit of doing my homework every day at the same time.  I would finish working and dinner and then sit down with my husband most evenings.  We’d have the TV on, and I did my homework.   What I realized just recently is that this consistent routine made Bible study a whole lot easier for me.  A HA – moment hit.   

 ·       ***   I actually had more of my evening available – I could do only one days’ of homework and stop anad still have the rest of the evening to do something else;

·         *** I had the whole next day to process what I had studied the night before.  I don’t think I consciously thought about the lesson – but every so often a thought would go into my head about something I had studied.  I could think about it and process it.  This prepared me for the next day’s lesson.

·      ***   I also learned that when I only had one days of homework to do, I could prepare my teaching lesson at the same time (cross reference the questions to the text, etc).

So my question to you is -  do you have the same time every day that you do your Bible study?  It could be in the morning while you’re having your coffee.  It could be during or after lunch.  It could be after dinner.  (funny how Bible study and meals go together).  

Do you know that science has shown that it takes 21 days to make a new habit.  And once you’re in your new schedule, things are easier to get done.   You’ve scheduled that time every day to do your bible study, you schedule your other activities around it, (just like you’ve scheduled your activities around attending bible study on Tuesday am or Thursday pm).

God is a God of order.  He is precise and logical and everything has a place.  And He created us in His image.  Therefore, we function better when we have a consistent schedule.  As we learned in our prayer study, where our time is spent – that shows where our loyalties are.  Are you a child of God?  Have you placed His Sovereignty and His will over you and your life?  If you have, then how you spend your time should reflect that.

I am a citizen of heaven

Essentials of Effective Prayer

Week 3

So in week 3 of our study, we were discussing Jesus' prayer that he taught the disciples to pray.  We discussed that the Lord's Prayer is a model for us on how to pray.  One of the elements of the Lord's Prayer is worship.  And part of worship is acknowledging God's Sovereignty.  (Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Matthew 6:9-11).

One of the cross referencing verses we studied was Philippians 3:20  ^"For our ^[a]citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;" I started really thinking about that phrase "our citizenship is in heaven".  What does that mean?  It intrigued me.

First, let's look at Webster's 1828 dictionary:  The definition for citizenship is "The state of being vested with the rights and privileges of a citizen.".  

So Philippians 3:20 would then say that we are citizens of heaven.  But how does that work?  We live on the earth right now.  Using logic and reasoning, that means that a believer's permanent place of residence is in heaven.  Now, we are only an alien, an immigrant, here on this earth.  This is only our temporary home.

Benson's commentary had a good description:

This implys our citizenship, our thoughts, our affections, are already in heaven; or we think, speak, and act, converse with our fellow-creatures, and conduct ourselves in all our interaction with them, as citizens of the New Jerusalem, and as being only strangers and pilgrims upon earth. We therefore endeavour to promote the interests of that glorious society to which we belong, to learn its manners, secure a title to its privileges, and behave in a way suitable to, and worthy of our relation to it;

This concept of our citizenship being in heaven came up in class this week (week 5).  Particularly when we were discussing John 17:14-16: "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them ^[a]from ^[b]the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."

So Jesus Himself said we believers are not of this world, just as He was not.  And even though we are citizens of heaven, our "assignment" here on earth is to build God's kingdom.  Part of building God's kingdom is to mature ourselves to be more and more Christlike.  So when Jesus prayed "I do not ask You to take them out of the world", that means that God does not remove us from our hard circumstances sometimes.  We have to work through our problems.  It's not easy, but it's our job here for this very short time while we're on earth.

Persevere, beloved, Persevere!

Peeling an Onion today?

 Essentials of Effective Prayer 

Week 5

As long as I've known her, my mentor, Karen, told us a great analogy for spiritual growth - the onion!   Sounds a little odd, I know, but give me a minute and let me explain.

In class, we were discussing 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  So this verse is all about recognizing our sins and confessing them to God.  God forgives us and we can learn from our sins and mistakes and grow ever more like Jesus.  It's a process called spiritual growth and maturity in Christ.

We were also talking that we are always being refined in God's image.  When we first accept Christ as our Savior, we might still look a lot like the world - nothing in our outward behavior has changed that much.  But when we accept Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit in us.  The Holy Spirit nudges and pushes us to slowly get rid of the outward sins.  Just like an onion.

So first the outer, superficial layers are peeled away.  As we get deeper and deeper into the onion, the harder and harder it is to get rid of those really deeply rooted character flaws.   The closer we get to the center smelly part of the onion, the more tears we shed.

For example, at first the Holy Spirit might be working on you to not swear.  Then He might work on you years later to practice kindness to others.  Then maybe again years later, after you've worked on those two things (and others), then He works on you to "capture every thought". (2 Corinthians 10:5).  It's all a process and just like peeling away the layers of an onion.

Have you peeled an onion today?

Iniquities vs sins

 Essentials of Effective Prayer 

Week 5

Today in class we covered week 5 of our study, Essentials of Effective Prayer. We were discussing about how our relationship with God affects our prayers.  More specifically, the thought that when we harbor sin in our hearts, God will not listen to what we have to say.

One of the Bible verses we looked at was Isaiah 59:1-2:

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull
That it cannot hear. ² But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His ^[a]face from you so that He does not hear.

 Look more closely at verse 2 -  the prophet used the words "iniquities" and "sins".  Someone in class today questioned this - aren't they the same word?  But if so, why were two different words used.  Let's use some inductive study methods and see if we can figure this out. 

First, I like to check Webster's 1828 dictionary online. http://webstersdictionary1828.com/
Iniquities - means injustice, unrighteousness, wickedness.
Sins - the voluntary departure of a moral agent from a known rule prescribed by God.

 Next, I like to check www.blueletterbible.com:
Iniquities = Strong's Number H5771 - perversity, depravity;
Sins = Strong's Number H2403 - to miss the mark, to wander from the way;

Then, let's do some cross referencing where sins and iniquities are mentioned in the same passage:
Iniquities:
Psalm 51:2: “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin”
Psalm 32:5: "I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.’"

Here's another verse that sheds a light on iniquity:

Micah 2:1: “Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it.”.  So from this passage we see iniquity means a premeditated choice.

Now, let's go back to our passage in Isaiah 59:2 and apply these truths to the passage and see what we can learn.  We can also look at the passages from Psalm as they both mention iniquity and sin together.   By looking at all these verses, the meaning is clear:  Iniquity is clearly meditated and detestable acts.  Sin is knowing God's law and being disobedient to that law.

 Repeating in Isaiah 59:2 -  But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His ^[a]face from you so that He does not hear.
 Conclusion:   your willful detestable acts have separated you from God.  You knew God's law and you disobeyed.  Therefore, God has hidden his face from you so that He does not hear.

Do you wish to have a close relationship with God?  He's always there - it's you that has moved away.  Confess your sins, ask for forgiveness and get your relationship right with God.  Time is short, my friends!

The Lord is My Shepherd

Essentials of Effective Prayer

Week 2

So in week 2 of our "Essentials of Effective Prayer" study, we talked about a couple of the names of God.  We talked about the role of worship in prayer.  Worship involves acknowledging the sovereignty of God in each of our own lives.  Worship also involves knowing our Creator.  We get to know our Creator by knowing His Names.

One of the names of God is "God is my Shepherd".  This is taken, of course, from Psalm 23:

Psalm 23 - The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
² He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
³ He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
⁶ Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

In our morning class, someone mentioned how this lines up as an analogy with the animals sheep and their shepherd.  That was interesting to me, so I did a little digging.  So, of course, the analogy is that we (believers in Christ) are the sheep and Jesus is the Shepherd.  Of course, when the Psalmist (probably David) wrote this, Jesus hadn't come to the earth yet - so this is a foreshadowing or Christ, our Savior.  Jesus Himself said He is our Good Shepherd (John 10:1-21).

So how are we like sheep?

Sheep/Shepherd	Humans
If the lead sheep goes over the cliff, the rest of the herd will follow the leader.	We tend to follow the leader.   Think of infamous leaders in our world's history.  Hitler comes to mind first.  Make sure you're following a good leader - a righteous leader - Jesus The Good Shepherd.
Sheep wander away from their shepherd	We tend to wander away from God.  When we don't feel close to God anymore, guess who moved? (isaiah 53:6, Hebrews 2:1)
If a sheep wanders away, the shepherd will go out and search for it.	And if a sheep does wander off, the shepherd will leave the flock in charge of his helpers and search for the lost animal (Matthew 9:36, Matthew 18:12-14, Luke 15:3-7)
Sheep have zero homing instincts.   If they get lost, they cannot find their way back home.  They need a shepherd to bring them back home.	Believing in Jesus our Good Shepherd provides salvation for us eternally.  In one of Jesus' parables, He says if a man owned 100 sheep, he would willingly leave 99 of them to find the one that's lost. And when he finds the lost sheep, "he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost" (Matthew 8:13-14).
There is a bond between the sheep and the shepherd.  Each knows the other's voice and responds to it.	Christ knows each one of us personally and knows our name and the sound of our voice.
The shepherd meets every need of his sheep - food, water, rest,  safety, direction	Our Shepherd knows exactly what we need.  We will not lack the necessities of life, because He knows our needs.  (Luke 12:22-30)
Sheep will not drink from fast flowing waters because of the risk of drowning.	Psalm 23:2 talks of the shepherd leading his sheep besides the quiet waters.  Jesus is our living water (John 4:10, John 7:37-39)
A shepherd will bring his sheep into the sheepfold at night to protect the flock at night from predators. A sheepfold was a pen, a cave, or an area backed by stone walls.  Since there were no doors, the shepherd would often sleep or sit at the opening, guarding the sheep.	Jesus is the only door to salvation (john 10:7)
Sheep are almost impossible to train	God gives us our own free will.  We are not robots forced to choose life or death.  It has been said that God is a gentleman - He never ever forces Himself upon us.
A shepherd carries a rod and a staff, which he uses in different ways for different reasons. The rod is just a big, long stick with a little knob or bud at the top of it.  The rod is used for guarding and protecting. The shepherd will practice endlessly so that he’ll be able to accurately chuck that rod at a predator or even at an unruly sheep to keep it in line.  A staff has more of a hook at the end of it.  It is used for guiding and directing.  Sometimes an animal will wander off too far from the others.   The staff is used to hook a wayward sheep and lead it back into the fold. At other times, it’s used as an examining tool to check the animals for parasites or other ailments.	As believers, we have the Holy Spirit in us.  Sometimes, the Holy Spirit uses that rod of correction us.  It's good to know that whenever we lose our way, He will use His staff to guide us back to the right path.
The shepherd leads his sheep to green pastures	God provides HIs Word to sustain and nourish us
The shepherd lays his life down for his sheep.  This is different from a hired hand. A hired hand will flee when danger comes, unlike a shepherd who has invested his time and life into his sheep.   The good shepherd will lay down his life for his sheep.	Jesus willingly laid his life down for us.  Jesus leads his believers to the cross.  The Shepherd became like a sheep - he became the pure and perfect white lamb, without spot or blemish and became our sacrifice on the cross for our sins, so that we might live forever with Him in heaven. (John 3:16,  John 10:15, John 10:17-18)

 
So we are like sheep, just make sure you're only following the true and only Good Shepherd!