Build a memorial
Hello girls! This will be the last Bible Study posted for this spring session. If you have not finished "Breaking Free" I really encourage you to do that, she has some outstanding final words. I have to say before we begin that I am very proud of you all! You have studied, you have pressed through, you have given things up, you have been "gritty honest" and you have been freed! You have grown! And you have brought glory to our God. I am proud of you. Your work has not been easy, and it does not stop here. Your journey has just begun. Continue to seek the Lord, He is everything you are looking for. With that, our last words together; for now.
I Chronicles 16:8-12 "Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all of his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done..."
It is important for us to pause and remember what God has done for us and in us, and to thank Him for it. We are exhorted in Scripture to look to the Lord, to remember what He has done and to thank Him. I want to end our time together doing just that. Let's look at one other place in Scripture.
In Joshua 4, we find the Israelites finally entering the Promised Land. After years and years of slavery in Egypt, and after decades of wandering in the desert, God's people are finally going to inhabit the land that God had promised to them. The way was rough. Their time in the desert had not been luxurious or even fun, but God had been faithful. He had watched over them and provided for them and led them to their inheritance. And to enter the Promised Land, the Israelites had to cross the Jordan River.
Joshua 4:1-3 "When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 'Choose twelve people....and tell them to take up twleve stones from the middle of the Jordan...and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.'"
Why would God ask his people to do this?
Joshua 4:6 "to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them ......" And God goes on to instruct His people to tell their children what God had done for them. Deliverance, freedom, provision, grace. Unfailing Love. They hadn't deserved it, but God loved them and brought them into a place of peace and prosperity and blessing. Essentially, God's people were to "remember the wonders of the Lord" and declare them to everyone around them.
Take a moment, right now, and think back over this past year. Think back to where you were and what was holding you captive. This is not a moment to be ashamed, but to recognize what God has done in you! This is the time for you to take a stone from the middle of the river, and set it down as a foundation for the rest of you to be built on. In future times of distress or discouragment, this rock is to serve as a reminder of the deliverance of our God! Maybe you have not overcome every area yet, but work has begun and God is moving in you. Phil. 1:6 promises us that when God begins something in you, He WILL bring it to completion! I know that many times we want to forget where we have come from because we are ashamed or emabarrassed of what we did/fell for/didn't do or any other host of things. But in our progress toward freedom, we bring glory to God! Just being able to stand on the banks of the other side of the Jordan is a huge victory for you! You have come so far! You really have!
My encouragement for you is that you will continue to seek the Lord. Psalm 107: 8 & 9 says "Let them (us) give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for (us), for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. " Scripture goes on to describe our state when God rescued us: suffering, in darkness, prisoners, etc... BUT vs 13 says "Then they (we!) cried to the Lord in (our) trouble, and he saved (us) from (our) distress. He brought (us) out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away (our) chains. Let (us) give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for (us)."
He loves you! He has more for you! He hears when you cry to Him! My prayer for you is that you will continue to cooperate with God in areas that you are not free yet, and that you will maintain your freedom in the areas that you are. And that you will continue to seek the Lord. Pursue Him. Chase Him. Rely on Him! We get tired when we rely on our own independence and our own strength to fight! Hunger for Him. Now that you have tasted of what God has to offer, nothing else will satisfy you anyway! And thank Him.
Think how far you've come. Just rest for a moment, without analzying yourself, tattling on yourself or berating yourself. Turn your eyes toward the Lord. And now build a memorial so you will always remember what He has done.
Build a Memorial:
Your assignment is to record at least one thing that God has done for you over the past 7 months of this study. Write down something God has freed you of, taught you or that you are thankful for. Once you have written it down, put it where you can see it! Pastor Jeremiah led our youth to do this last week. Each student wrote on a brick something they were thankful for. They took that brick home with them as a reminder of God's goodness and unfailing love. You may not have a brick, but you at least have paper. Build a memorial for what God has done. You may even want to literally go outside and get a rock. Post to this blog at least one thing God has freed you of or done in you. This is a BIG DEAL to me, to Rhonda, and to everyone else in this study. Rhonda and I have worked really hard and it is very encouraging to us, and to others when we see/hear what God has done in you. That first Scripture we read said to "mkae known among the nations" You may not be able to do that right now, but you can make it known to all of us! And then we get to rejoice with you! Even if you have never posted yet, please take just a minute to post....it would mean a lot!
Please also feel free to post any final words, thoughts or thanks. It has been a journey.....but this is just the beginning.
Last thing. Sign up for the women's retreat. We have designed this retreat for you to encounter God. Make the time for it, I promise you'll be so glad that you did!
Praying for more of Jesus for you,
di
I Chronicles 16:8-12 "Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all of his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done..."
It is important for us to pause and remember what God has done for us and in us, and to thank Him for it. We are exhorted in Scripture to look to the Lord, to remember what He has done and to thank Him. I want to end our time together doing just that. Let's look at one other place in Scripture.
In Joshua 4, we find the Israelites finally entering the Promised Land. After years and years of slavery in Egypt, and after decades of wandering in the desert, God's people are finally going to inhabit the land that God had promised to them. The way was rough. Their time in the desert had not been luxurious or even fun, but God had been faithful. He had watched over them and provided for them and led them to their inheritance. And to enter the Promised Land, the Israelites had to cross the Jordan River.
Joshua 4:1-3 "When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 'Choose twelve people....and tell them to take up twleve stones from the middle of the Jordan...and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.'"
Why would God ask his people to do this?
Joshua 4:6 "to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them ......" And God goes on to instruct His people to tell their children what God had done for them. Deliverance, freedom, provision, grace. Unfailing Love. They hadn't deserved it, but God loved them and brought them into a place of peace and prosperity and blessing. Essentially, God's people were to "remember the wonders of the Lord" and declare them to everyone around them.
Take a moment, right now, and think back over this past year. Think back to where you were and what was holding you captive. This is not a moment to be ashamed, but to recognize what God has done in you! This is the time for you to take a stone from the middle of the river, and set it down as a foundation for the rest of you to be built on. In future times of distress or discouragment, this rock is to serve as a reminder of the deliverance of our God! Maybe you have not overcome every area yet, but work has begun and God is moving in you. Phil. 1:6 promises us that when God begins something in you, He WILL bring it to completion! I know that many times we want to forget where we have come from because we are ashamed or emabarrassed of what we did/fell for/didn't do or any other host of things. But in our progress toward freedom, we bring glory to God! Just being able to stand on the banks of the other side of the Jordan is a huge victory for you! You have come so far! You really have!
My encouragement for you is that you will continue to seek the Lord. Psalm 107: 8 & 9 says "Let them (us) give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for (us), for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. " Scripture goes on to describe our state when God rescued us: suffering, in darkness, prisoners, etc... BUT vs 13 says "Then they (we!) cried to the Lord in (our) trouble, and he saved (us) from (our) distress. He brought (us) out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away (our) chains. Let (us) give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for (us)."
He loves you! He has more for you! He hears when you cry to Him! My prayer for you is that you will continue to cooperate with God in areas that you are not free yet, and that you will maintain your freedom in the areas that you are. And that you will continue to seek the Lord. Pursue Him. Chase Him. Rely on Him! We get tired when we rely on our own independence and our own strength to fight! Hunger for Him. Now that you have tasted of what God has to offer, nothing else will satisfy you anyway! And thank Him.
Think how far you've come. Just rest for a moment, without analzying yourself, tattling on yourself or berating yourself. Turn your eyes toward the Lord. And now build a memorial so you will always remember what He has done.
Build a Memorial:
Your assignment is to record at least one thing that God has done for you over the past 7 months of this study. Write down something God has freed you of, taught you or that you are thankful for. Once you have written it down, put it where you can see it! Pastor Jeremiah led our youth to do this last week. Each student wrote on a brick something they were thankful for. They took that brick home with them as a reminder of God's goodness and unfailing love. You may not have a brick, but you at least have paper. Build a memorial for what God has done. You may even want to literally go outside and get a rock. Post to this blog at least one thing God has freed you of or done in you. This is a BIG DEAL to me, to Rhonda, and to everyone else in this study. Rhonda and I have worked really hard and it is very encouraging to us, and to others when we see/hear what God has done in you. That first Scripture we read said to "mkae known among the nations" You may not be able to do that right now, but you can make it known to all of us! And then we get to rejoice with you! Even if you have never posted yet, please take just a minute to post....it would mean a lot!
Please also feel free to post any final words, thoughts or thanks. It has been a journey.....but this is just the beginning.
Last thing. Sign up for the women's retreat. We have designed this retreat for you to encounter God. Make the time for it, I promise you'll be so glad that you did!
Praying for more of Jesus for you,
di
posted by Di Beals | 9:18 AM
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