February 11, 2005
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Friday Bible study was on how we can walk in confidence and security in the unconditional love of God, I am so glad that my pastor is back, and he seems somehow to cover a few of the topics I am dealing with.
He started out saying that we have a great need for the assurance of Daddy (God). I am a sinner BUT I still have security in God. We don’t go forward with a lot of God ideas because we remember our individual sins and shortcomings and it causes us to question God’s secuity. We remember our sins, but God forgives us when we repent, and he will bless us no matter how much we mess up.
Psalm 37: 23-25 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, but it is important to know that God upholds us when we fall down.
**** [boy can I relate to the following] ***Sometimes the messages of our youth drown out the messages of God’s truth. We buy into the negative statements made by parents, teachers, peers, and do not realize that really we are beloved of God.
Our righteousness is not based on what we do, it is based on the act of Jesus and the Cross, and our faith in his act. These verses are not an excuse to sin, for to sin deliberately is presumptuous and does not honor God. If we have been forgiven, we choose to try not to sin for the love we have for God, not that we won’t make mistakes, but that we do not deliberately choose wrong.
Only a heart repentence is what God looks for. We want our lives to be such that immediately when we do something sinful, we are aware of what we have done and can repent immediately. Often, we speak or do something and it does not dawn on us until hours later that what we did was not godly, words spoken unthinkingly, etc.
That our day to day sins do not affect our salvation if we die before we repent, but they do affect the quality of our daily walk with God. That Jesus died for our sins, past, present and future.
Romans 10:6-10
Righteousness of faith, the word in the heart. We must express our belief in God in our hearts, head knowledge doesn’t do it.
Numbers 13 - eight of the 10 spies to the promised land, came back with a yes, but comment, that the land was what was promised, but they felt like grasshoppers. Only two came with a true confession. Often we get what we speak, so when the 8 spies and the people said that they would rather have died in Israel, and stated that God would not protect them, God gave them their wishes and they wandered for 40 years and died in the wilderness, never reaching the promised land.
In the Bible there is no set method for deliverance, many ways deliverance happened (fasting, praying, healing, military intervention, etc), it has nothing to do with methodology, it is a heart issue.
Ps. 37:28, 34-40, We look at sinners and think that they are getting away with stuff, but we always reap what we sow. Often the sinners who have things in abundance do not have peace or joy.
Sometimes our prayers fail because of false beliefs like, I am not worhty, the faith stuff doesn’t work, or we aren’t in a position to accept the blessing because of unconfessed sin.
Psalm 34:17 God hears and delivers. If we ask God for A, God wants not only to deliver us from A, but also B, C, and D, and whatever. Sometimes we do not ask fully what we need, so we look for the answer to our prayer, but it is not happening because there is more to do.
Not only must we repent of our act (getting caught so we repent) but the repentence must also reach our hearts.
Deut. 31: 6, 8 God’s promises for us. He may not remove all the rocks from our path, but he will walk among the rocks with us.
Joshua 1: 5, 9, 10-11 Moses (a murderer, liar, coward – and yet God used him). God called Moses into his ministry in his 80th year, so do not ever feel that God will not use you. He had to get Moses ready for his future job.
1 Samuel 12:22 God does not have to do it for ME, he does it FOR HIS NAME’S SAKE. So when God blesses us it is not because we are stellar individuals, He blesses us for His name’s sake.
The older you get in the Lord, the faster you repent.
God is always looking for the ram in the bush that he hid there.
1 Kings 6:13, 1 Kings 8: 57-58, Blessings for us and for the rest of Israel.
1 Chron. 28:20
Our pastor talked about how generational blessings and curses are passed down, and said that those who never knew God or had Godly people in their pasts are 1st generational believers (SUCH AS ME), and that we start out with a clean slate.
Nehemiah 9: 30-31
Psalms 27: 5, 8-10
Ps. 94: 14-15
God has taken us as His inheritance
Is. 41:17-20, 21-22 We need God not only in the dry river valleys but also in the desolate heights.
V. 21-22 prophesy to God and present your case to God and prophesy your future.
IS 42: 16
great promise PS 9:9-12
Sorry for all the scriptures with not all the comments. Some of these things are things you have shared in answer to my questions. I am thinking on these things and trying to learn to trust in them, but it is hard. Hopefully God is patient. Our pastor was speaking so fast that it was hard to take proper notes, we were kept busy turning Bible pages, and it was so awesome hearing this message.
I do have a few questions though,
I am going to have to work hard to accept some of this, but I do realize that it is tough for me to accept God’s love, for all the same reasons I have spoken of before. I understand that God can redeem our pasts, but how. I still wish God was there in a way I could recognize in my past, and realize I am guilty of trying to sort out where God was, with a definite vision of what I hoped God would do. One of the passages shared above is that “though mother and father forsake you,” that God is there to fill the void. Only I didn’t feel God there, and the void is still there.
Driving home today from errands I realized that maybe I need to ask God where he was and to help me sort out that. But I am not holding my breath for an answer. Much to talk about with my pastor when I get to see him on Thursday.
Hope my hastily scrawled notes give some ideas for you.
I told snowberryoxycream to write the answer to the riddle. So if you read her comments in my Feb. 11′th post below, you will find the answer to the riddle.
Heather
Comments (9)
It is good to write and read scripture, it helps us remember.
Bless you Heather.:o)
WOW, you wrote alot and alot of truth. Amen, I am learning alot from your entries! Amen. About God being there– I know it’s easy to see the ‘void’ of God being there when you went through your hardships. How does one explain the magnificant of God? His majesty? His love? My mom used to tell me when I was very young that the love of Jesus is so big, so wide, so profound, bigger than the universe itself… It may be hard to accept God’s love, but all He’s asking is that you is just to do so, by faith. You can’t see faith but you know in your heart that it is there and that there is a burning feeling inside.
I don’t know if you read this (below) but I just want to share it with you. I hope I’m helping a little, but know that God heals and He’s been there, carrying you…
FOOTPRINTS…A New Version
Imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking down the road together. For much of the way, the Lord’s footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely varying the pace. But your footprints are a disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turnarounds, circles, departures, and returns. For much of the way, it seems
to go like this, but gradually your footprints come more in line with the Lord’s, soon paralleling His consistently. You and Jesus are walking as true friends!
This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: Your footprints that once etched the sand next to Jesus’ are now walking precisely in His steps.
Inside His larger footprints are your smaller ones, you and Jesus are becoming one. This goes on for many miles, but gradually you notice another change. The footprints inside the large footprints seem to grow larger. Eventually they disappear altogether.
There is only one set of footprints they have become one. This goes on for a long time, but suddenly the second set of footprints is back. This time it seems even worse! Zigzags all over the place. Stops. Starts. Gashes in the sand. A variable mess of prints. You are amazed and shocked.
Your dream ends. Now you pray:
“Lord, I understand the first scene, with zigzags and fits. I was a new Christian; I was just learning. But You walked on through the storm and helped me learn to walk with You.”
“That is correct.”
“And when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in Your steps, following You very closely.”
“Very good. You have understood everything so far.”
When the smaller footprints grew and filled in Yours, I suppose that I was becoming like You in every way.”
“Precisely.”
“So, Lord, was there a regression or something? The footprints separated, and this time it was worse than at first.”
There is a pause as the Lord answers, with a smile in His voice.
“You didn’t know? It was then that we danced!”
To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to weep, a time to laugh, A time to mourn, and a time to dance. Ecclesiastics 3:1,4.
((Hugs))
…Thanks.
<3
Thank you. Likewise.
Hey there…
In answer to your question: I understand that God can redeem our pasts, but how?
You answered it yourself: Only a heart repentence is what God looks for.
Heather, peace and happiness will come. I enjoyed the comment from ByGrace21. I had never heard that and it is beautiful. “We were dancing.” How fantastic is that! Hugs.
By Grace, that is a much more tolerable footprints poem than the original. Must be nice to dance with God.
Thanks to all for your kind words and support. Perhaps relationship with God is such that it takes a long time to form. For me it seems to be grain of sand upon grain of sand. I don’t think I have ever had one of those experiences where you cannot come up with another rational reason for it. God sometimes speaks to some, but mostly I think He is silent, except you can appreciate Him in creation.
Heather
I haven’t a lot to add so…
((grins))