Ancient Ruins
I just want to let you know that I am really excited about this study. We have gone through the 5 obstacles; unbelief, pride, idolatry, prayerlessness, and legalism. With that we covered the 5 benefits PRAISE GOD; to know and believe Him, glorify God, find satisfaction in God, experience God’s peace, and enjoy God’s presence. So we are cleaning house and now ready to do more cleaning. I enjoyed reading Di’s lesson last week about legalism. I do not want to become legalistic in the church. I have been raised in the church and have seen people finally taking the courage to come in to church only to be put down by church members because they look different or don’t use the correct words. How are they supposed to know Jesus if we can’t accept them as they are? Anyway, now we are ready to tour the ancient ruins.
I have always wanted to take a trip to Egypt and Israel to see the Bible come to life. It is so interesting to see pictures of the old buildings and pyramids. Just to put yourself back in time. When I saw this title that immediately came to my mind, “Ancient Ruins”, the buildings that have decayed over the years but you can still see parts of the buildings. I would love to actually touch the buildings that Jesus touched, to stand where he stood when he fed the 5000, etc. So why do we have the desire to see ancient ruins? Because we want to see our heritage, where did we come from, what is our history like? In this chapter we are looking at our heritage. Where did we come from? What were our grandparents like? How are we like them? What did they pass down to us, good or bad? As I was reading, I took a look at my heritage and thought my story is going to be boring because both my grandparents on both sides were Christian and they raised their families in a Christian home therefore my mom and dad raised us in a healthy Christian home as well. I don’t have any stories of neglect or cruel behavior that I have to work through. I am truly blessed. I have my own hang-ups that I know have been passed down through my mom like insecurities and need for approval but those things seem so small compared to others. If anything, this chapter has made me realize what I do have and to be grateful for all He has done for me. On the other note I know that some of you have gone through tough times and are still dealing with it today. I like how Beth Moore pointed out the lineage of Jesus. Read Matthew 1:1-16. “Even Christ had a blend of the negative and positive in His lineage.” There are 46 people over a period of 2,000 years that make up Christ’s lineage. Some were heroes of faith (Abraham, Isaac, Ruth, and David). Some had bad reputations (Rahab and Tamar). Some were ordinary (Hezron, Ram, Nahshon, and Akim). Some were evil like Manesseh and Abijah. In my study Bible it says, “God’s work in history is not limited by human failures or sins, and he works through ordinary people. Just as God used all kinds of people to bring his Son into the world, he uses all kinds today to accomplish his will. And God wants to use you.” It takes all kinds of people to make up this world and He can use all our inadequacies and craziness. After reading about Christ’s lineage in Matt. 1:1-16, read Gal. 3:26-29 “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” No matter what if we belong to Christ we are heirs according to the promise. Psalms 16:6 says, "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” Some of you hold very heavy inheritances but as we recognize them, accepting the truth, then you can overcome. Remember that ultimately we are God’s children and you are not alone!
The second chapter we read this weekend was about Ancient Boundary Stone. An ancient boundary stone was not to be moved. It was a visual reminder of what belonged to the landowner. You were not to cross the line. It was similar to a fence that borders our property. The Ten Commandments are like this boundary stone. We are not to change them to fit our lifestyles. They are “set in stone” ha ha. No seriously they are. Some of you may fight this generational sin constantly. I like what Beth Moore says, “The cycle does not stop until someone has enough courage to move back to the ancient boundary stone God ordained.” These stones weren’t made to enslave us but to keep us free! If we stay in denial then the enemy has won. Together we need to recognize these bondages passed down from generation to generation. Some of you are blessed and don’t have generational bondages. We need to get on our knees and pray for our sisters in Christ who are fighting a constant battle. This goes back to our obstacle of idolatry “anything or anyone we worship, use as a replacement for God or in any way treat as our god.” Christ can set us free as we recognize the hindrances and bondages passed down and deal with them. Again not in a negative or bashing way but in a positive way. Turning this around to how we treat our kids. I was moved by this. I have been blessed with this great inheritance I now have no excuse but to pass a great inheritance on to my kids. How am I doing? I need to remind myself of this. Do they see my reading my Bible and praying? Do I offer Christian advice? I try and want to keep the inheritance going. This was a challenging and deep lesson. I hope you enjoyed these two chapters. Let them sink in and let’s take action!
Assignment:
In your journal make a list of positives and negatives from both sets of maternal and paternal grandparents. Then do the positives and negatives of your parents. Then answer this question. “Can you think of any reasons why the negatives may have been present in either your grandparents’or parents’ lives? Why?”
Have you recognized any ancient ruins in the last few generations? Is so, what are they?
Write down bondages that you are dealing with right now. Then write down how you are going to conquer them. Read them everyday and allow God to release them.
Memorize Isaiah 61:4
Share what this week’s lesson meant to you. There was so much in these two chapters that there might be something else I didn’t touch on that stuck out to you.
If you would like to email Di or me directly and not post it please feel free. Some of these subjects may be too personal. We would love to pray with you! I mean it! Di and I love praying with people.
Love ya,Rhonda
I have always wanted to take a trip to Egypt and Israel to see the Bible come to life. It is so interesting to see pictures of the old buildings and pyramids. Just to put yourself back in time. When I saw this title that immediately came to my mind, “Ancient Ruins”, the buildings that have decayed over the years but you can still see parts of the buildings. I would love to actually touch the buildings that Jesus touched, to stand where he stood when he fed the 5000, etc. So why do we have the desire to see ancient ruins? Because we want to see our heritage, where did we come from, what is our history like? In this chapter we are looking at our heritage. Where did we come from? What were our grandparents like? How are we like them? What did they pass down to us, good or bad? As I was reading, I took a look at my heritage and thought my story is going to be boring because both my grandparents on both sides were Christian and they raised their families in a Christian home therefore my mom and dad raised us in a healthy Christian home as well. I don’t have any stories of neglect or cruel behavior that I have to work through. I am truly blessed. I have my own hang-ups that I know have been passed down through my mom like insecurities and need for approval but those things seem so small compared to others. If anything, this chapter has made me realize what I do have and to be grateful for all He has done for me. On the other note I know that some of you have gone through tough times and are still dealing with it today. I like how Beth Moore pointed out the lineage of Jesus. Read Matthew 1:1-16. “Even Christ had a blend of the negative and positive in His lineage.” There are 46 people over a period of 2,000 years that make up Christ’s lineage. Some were heroes of faith (Abraham, Isaac, Ruth, and David). Some had bad reputations (Rahab and Tamar). Some were ordinary (Hezron, Ram, Nahshon, and Akim). Some were evil like Manesseh and Abijah. In my study Bible it says, “God’s work in history is not limited by human failures or sins, and he works through ordinary people. Just as God used all kinds of people to bring his Son into the world, he uses all kinds today to accomplish his will. And God wants to use you.” It takes all kinds of people to make up this world and He can use all our inadequacies and craziness. After reading about Christ’s lineage in Matt. 1:1-16, read Gal. 3:26-29 “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” No matter what if we belong to Christ we are heirs according to the promise. Psalms 16:6 says, "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” Some of you hold very heavy inheritances but as we recognize them, accepting the truth, then you can overcome. Remember that ultimately we are God’s children and you are not alone!
The second chapter we read this weekend was about Ancient Boundary Stone. An ancient boundary stone was not to be moved. It was a visual reminder of what belonged to the landowner. You were not to cross the line. It was similar to a fence that borders our property. The Ten Commandments are like this boundary stone. We are not to change them to fit our lifestyles. They are “set in stone” ha ha. No seriously they are. Some of you may fight this generational sin constantly. I like what Beth Moore says, “The cycle does not stop until someone has enough courage to move back to the ancient boundary stone God ordained.” These stones weren’t made to enslave us but to keep us free! If we stay in denial then the enemy has won. Together we need to recognize these bondages passed down from generation to generation. Some of you are blessed and don’t have generational bondages. We need to get on our knees and pray for our sisters in Christ who are fighting a constant battle. This goes back to our obstacle of idolatry “anything or anyone we worship, use as a replacement for God or in any way treat as our god.” Christ can set us free as we recognize the hindrances and bondages passed down and deal with them. Again not in a negative or bashing way but in a positive way. Turning this around to how we treat our kids. I was moved by this. I have been blessed with this great inheritance I now have no excuse but to pass a great inheritance on to my kids. How am I doing? I need to remind myself of this. Do they see my reading my Bible and praying? Do I offer Christian advice? I try and want to keep the inheritance going. This was a challenging and deep lesson. I hope you enjoyed these two chapters. Let them sink in and let’s take action!
Assignment:
In your journal make a list of positives and negatives from both sets of maternal and paternal grandparents. Then do the positives and negatives of your parents. Then answer this question. “Can you think of any reasons why the negatives may have been present in either your grandparents’or parents’ lives? Why?”
Have you recognized any ancient ruins in the last few generations? Is so, what are they?
Write down bondages that you are dealing with right now. Then write down how you are going to conquer them. Read them everyday and allow God to release them.
Memorize Isaiah 61:4
Share what this week’s lesson meant to you. There was so much in these two chapters that there might be something else I didn’t touch on that stuck out to you.
If you would like to email Di or me directly and not post it please feel free. Some of these subjects may be too personal. We would love to pray with you! I mean it! Di and I love praying with people.
Love ya,Rhonda
posted by Rhonda | 12:16 PM
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