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Posts Tagged ‘bible study’

So….How do Visions or Dreams Become Our Reality?

Life is so intriguing?!?!?!

Have you ever felt like you wanted to do so much more with your life and you know for sure for sure that what you are doing is just not that??!??! Yea, that’s where I’m at right about now…lol.

Right now, I have this thing going on with me where I have a feeling like I want to do something so significant with my life and I have no idea how to do it.  I almost don’t even know what exactly it is I want to do, but the way I have been feeling lately, and for some time, lets me know that what I am doing right now, is nowhere near what I feel God has planned for me because I keep coming back to this feeling no matter what I do.  I know that I can do anything I put my mind to, and through Christ that strengthens me, and if I can see the vision I can begin to live it, but for some reason I cannot begin to figure out how to get from where I am to where I see myself being in this vision I have seen for my life.   Are you still with me…lol? I hope I am not losing any of you.

When I think of God, I see things and can believe things so significant I can’t even begin to grasp it.  I truly think in ways that totally take all limits off God and find it hard to accept anything less, so when I see my life operating in what I feel is “less” then God’s glory, I feel like this can’t be it!  This cannot be God’s life for me. The things I see myself doing are just soo great, so awesome, and I know this is a life pleasing to God, but I have no idea how to accomplish such great things.  I see myself helping people in life changing ways and I have always wanted to help people, but I can’t see how exactly I am helping people in this vision I have.  I see myself being someone that people can go to to talk and consult with for motivation and inspiration because of things I have done in my own life that they can relate to.  I love to motivate people, I love to help and teach people, and I love to just fellowship with people.  I know I can be at a place like this, but I have no idea what I would be doing, where to begin, or how to get there.  It’s crazy because I see the end goal, but just don’t know how to get there!!! Are any of you with me on this?

So of course to add to all this, all the sermons and teaching I have been hearing lately between my church, 590AM, and Power 1410AM all circle around this topic of living a life of significance and not letting your passion go to waste because of fear, doubt, or  risk.  Then in my young adults ministry at church we talked further around this topic in terms of surrendering things in your life to God and transformation. The question we were asked was, “What aspects of your life do you feel God is really asking you to surrender?” As we began to talk and discuss the topics other questions came up that lead to my understanding that I must deepen my relationship with the Lord and really get to know him and listen to his voice in order to move forward.  I can do this through prayer, reading, and fasting.

Seems easy enough right?!?! Well, as the group began to discuss this further we began to get into how many of us have had relationships with the Lord for some time and how sometimes many things we feel we are lead to do may be our good idea verses a God idea and how do we know the difference. I guess the answer to this would be the same as far as spending more time get to know the Lord and to listen to His voice. This way we are not lead into confusion with whether our ideas are our own or God’s.  My ministry leader spoke to us saying that a God idea is one that God keeps reinforcing and revealing to you! Those are the ideas that we must be in prayer about because if we have doubt about what God is speaking to us, we could miss our opportunity to do a good work for him. Once we get to a place that we can hear and have faith in the things he is telling us to do, he will reveal the next step to us.

Awesome, so I have a good understanding of what I need to do and feel I have been doing this, so why do I keep coming back to this place. Some other people in the group and myself were beginning to discuss that if we have had a relationship with the Lord for some time, how do we know what we are doing is right?  If we have been praying, fasting, reading, serving, and giving the Lord our time why are we still not hearing Him? Are we doing something wrong? Is there something we are missing?  Maybe we know how to read and pray, but don’t fully understand how to listen. This is why many of us end up in the same place spiritually…as though we go through the years and do not really grow or feel like we are walking in God’s plan for our life.

This is a BIG topic!!! Let’s begin our discussion here! Can we make our vision or dream a reality? How do we get from where we are now to our vision that we see God is showing us? I want to hear what you all have to say concerning this and what are some things that we can do to help us overcome and begin surrendering ourselves, letting transformation occur, and walking in our God Plan for our lives.

Here are some of the scriptures referenced from the various talks and sermons I’ve heard:

Proverbs 3:1-35
Hebrews 5:11-14 and 6: 1-12
Jeremiah 29:1

Please share any other scriptures in your comments that you think can contribute to our learning and understanding!

Greetings in Jesus’ Name,

I shared the following Bible study via conference call with a group of friends and would like to share it with you. As you know, Jesus was, and still is, the greatest Salesman in the world. The points that are covered in this study came from a book that I had to read as a prerequisite for my second home-based business, a consultant for Ethnic Expressions. The author of “The Greatest Salesman In The World” is Og Mandino, an inspirational writer. After I read the book, I realized that the points that the President of Ethnic Expressions wants us to focus on, so that our sales approach will become more effective, are the same points that Jesus wants us to focus on so that we will be able to spread His Gospel more fervently and effectively. I am sure that as you go through this study that you will agree with me. I pray that you will be blessed and will realize what you will need to do to perfect your walk with the Lord.

The Greatest Salesman In The World

1. Today I Begin A New Life –
Today I am born anew and my birthplace is a vineyard where there is fruit for all. I will
pluck grapes of wisdom from the tallest and fullest vines in the vineyard. I will savor the taste
of grapes from these vines and will swallow the seed of success buried in each. New life
will sprout within me. Failure will no longer be my payment for struggle.

2. I will Greet This Day With Love In My Heart –
This is the greatest secret of success in all ventures. Only the unseen power of love can open the
hearts of men. I will make love my greatest weapon and none on whom I call can defend against
against its force.

3. I will Persist Until I Succeed –
I wasn’t delivered unto this world in defeat, nor does failure course in my veins. The prizes of
life are at the end of each journey, not near the beginning; and it is not given to me to know how
many steps are necessary in order to reach my goal. Failure I may still encounter at the
thousandth step, yet success hides behind the next bend in the road. Never will I know how close it lies unless I turn the corner. I will persist; I will win.

4. I Am Nature’s Greatest Miracle –
Since the beginning of time, never has there been another with my mind, my heart, my eyes, my
ears, my hands, my hair, my mouth. None that came before, none that live today and none that
come tomorrow can walk and talk and move and think exactly like me. I am a unique creature.

5. I Will Live This Day As If It Is My Last –
I will waste not a moment mourning yesterday’s misfortunes, yesterday’s defeats, yesterday’s
aches of the heart, for why should I throw good after bad? This day is all I have, and these hours
are now my eternity. I will make every hour count and each minute I will trade only for
something of value. If this is not my last day, I shall fall to my knees and give thanks.

6. Today I Will Be Master of My Emotions –
It is one of nature’s tricks, little understood, that each day I awaken with moods that have changed from yesterday. Yesterday’s joy will become today’s sadness; yet today’s sadness will grow into tomorrow’s joy. Each day when I awaken, I will follow this plan of battle before I am captured by the forces of sadness, self-pity and failure:

*If I feel depressed, I will sing; if I feel sad, I will laugh.
*If I feel ill, I will double my labor; if I feel fear, I will plunge ahead.
*If I feel inferior, I will wear new garments; if I feel uncertain, I will raise my voice.
*If I feel poverty, I will think of wealth to come; if I feel incompetent, I will remember
past successes; if I feel insignificant, I will remember my goals.

7. I will Laugh At The World –
No living creature can laugh except man. I will smile and my digestion will improve. I will chuckle and my burdens will be lightened. I will laugh and my life will be lengthened for this is the secret of long life and now it is mine. And most of all, I will laugh at myself, for man is most comical when he takes himself too seriously. Never will I fall into this trap of the mind. Four words I will train myself to say until they become a habit so strong that immediately they will appear in my mind whenever good humor threatens to depart from me: “This, too, shall pass.”

8. I will Multiply My Value A Hundredfold –
I am liken to a grain of wheat with one difference. To grow and multiply, it is necessary to plant the wheat grain in the darkness of the earth, and my failures, my despairs, my ignorance and my inabilities are the darkness in which I shall be planted in order to ripen. Now, like the wheat grain which will sprout and blossom only if it is nurtured with rain and sun and warm winds, I too must nurture my body and mind to fulfill my dreams. I will set goals for the day, the week, the month, the year and my life. I will consider my best performance of the past and multiply it a hundredfold.

9. I will Act Now –
My dreams are worthless, my plans are dust, my goals are impossible. All are of no value unless they are followed by action. I will not avoid the tasks of today and charge them to tomorrow for I know that tomorrow never comes. I will repeat these words, “I will act now,” again and again each hour, each day, every day, until the words become as much a habit as my breathing and the actions which follow become as instinctive as the blinking of my eyelids. With these words I can condition my mind to perform every act necessary for my success.

10. I will Pray For Guidance –
Who of so little faith that in a moment of great disaster or heartbreak has not called to his God? My life need not be filled with religion in order for me to recognize this greatest mystery of nature. All creatures that walk the earth, including man, possess the instinct to cry for help. The guidance I seek may come, or the guidance I seek may not come, but are not both of these an answer? Are not our cries a form of prayer? Henceforth I will pray, but my cries for help will only be cries for guidance.

Be Blessed!

Sis. Shirley

Greetings in the Precious Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Here is a lesson that I know will bless you in so many ways.  It helps us to visualize how Jesus truly is our Protector and Shield.  This perspective is simple but profound at the same time.

-Sis. Shirley

When you picture a magnificent flying bird, it is usually not a chicken that comes to mind.  I’ve never seen a chicken portrayed in flight – many eagles, but no chickens.  We quote the scripture from Isaiah 40:31 that talks about being borne up on the wings of eagles or with wings like eagles.  There is a difference, however, between being on His wings and being under His wings.

This promise in Psalm 91 is not elaborating on the flying wing but on the sheltering wing.  One indicates strength and accomplishment (flying; on), while the other denotes protection and familiarity (sheltering; under).  When you imagine the warmth of a nest and the security of being under the wings of the nurturing love of a mother hen with chicks, it paints a vivid picture of the sheltering wing of God’s protection that the psalmist refers to in this passage.

Is everyone protected under the wings?  Notice that it says, “He will cover you with His pinions, or feathers, and under His wings you may seek refuge (NASB).  Again, it’s up to us to make that decision!  We can seek refuge under His wings, if we choose to!

Scripture shows the maternal hovering side to God’s protection.  “Jerusalem, Jerusalem … how often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.”  (Matthew 23:37)

Notice the contrast between God’s willingness and our unwillingness:  His wanting and our not willing to … His would against our would not.  What an amazing analogy to show us that He offers protection that we don’t accept!

It is interesting that Jesus uses the correlation of maternal love to demonstrate His attachment to us.  There is certain fierceness to motherly love we cannot overlook.  God is deeply committed to us – yet at the same time, we can reject His outstretched arms if we so choose.  It is available, but not automatic.  God does not run here and here, trying to cover us.  He said, “I have made protection possible.  You run to Me!”  And when we do run to Him in faith, the enemy then has to go through God to get to us!  What a comforting thought.

This protection is not automatic.  So here are some questions for you to think about:

1.         How do we put this promise to work?

a.         We run to God with our mouths.

2.         Since we can’t physically run to God, how do we do it?

a.         We run to God with our hearts (understand the analogy to the animal kingdom).

3.         How can we put this promise into practice in our lives?

a.         We run to God with our faith – like those little chicks go running back to those

feathers!



Hey Everybody,

Okay, so I have been in a serious binge for digging deeper into God’s word and every time I get this deep desire to learn more about God’s word, I get wrapped up in the busyness of life, side tracked, and everything else you could imagine.

In an effort to become better disciplined with my time management, I have been setting aside a time every week for personal bible study that works with my regular schedule and so far, I’ve been successful!!! From time to time, I will be sharing with you some of my bible studies that I feel will offer great resources and information to you through this “Bible Study: Digging Deeper” Series. I will be focusing on different topics I want to learn more about and often times, I may continue a study on a topic that especially interest me or that I have received some feedback from, over a couple of weeks.

The Digging Deeper Bible Study series will be structured around Bible Verse Memorization while incorporating bible study tools and insight to the power that these verses can have in your life. Back in the day, I remember going to Sunday School and using workbooks that offered a new bible verse every week that we learned about and on the next following Sunday we would be tested for memorization on those verses before moving to the next lesson. Bible based teaching that was so simple, yet the basic foundation for equipping yourself for unlocking the power of the word in your life!!!

Making the Christian Connection…

Just like there are tools such as saws and hammers to help carpenters build and sewing machines to help a seamstress sew, there are tools out there to help us better understand the bible. These tools are available to use online and in print to help us make the most of our bible study time. Through my learning and seeking out God’s teaching on various topics, I will be sharing with you the bible study tools online and in print references that I have used in helping me understanding God’s word.

It has always been our effort, through DivineEndings.com, for Making Christian Connections, Everyday throughout the young adult Christian community, so this is one way in which we strive to do that for our bible study topics!!!  I invite you to share comments or feedback regarding topics being covered or suggestions for topics you would like to have discussions on via our Discussions Board.

My hope is that through this Digging Deeper Series, Ministry Leaders will contribute to this community by becoming involved on our discussions board, or respond by commenting to these blogs, with your thoughts and scripture references for those of us that are just seeking ways to learn more and gain a better understanding of God’s word!!!

Stay Tuned…

Join me back here on the MCC Blog for our first Digging Deeper topic based on the Scripture verse 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV).

New International Version (©1984)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV).

——————————————

Digging Deeper Bible Studies are a series of blogs devoted to the importance of Personal Bible Study time and Verse Memorization for unlocking the power of the word within in your life.

Greetings everyone.  I was a facilitator today for a Bible Study conference call that takes place every Tuesday from 12:15 to 1:00 p.m.  We all take turns bringing a Word of hope that God imparts to us.  This study was taken from a CD that I received from a Sister-in-Christ many years ago.  I had originally planned to bring a different message, but God placed this message on my heart very heavily because of the times we are living in.

It is time for us to step up to fulfill God’s plan for our lives to the best of our abilities.  Every day we have to strive to pray more fervently, more effectively, so that the very words that we utter into God’s Ear will destroy the yoke by the root, will bring deliverance into the situation, salvation to the lost and spiritual growth to our walk with the Holy Trinity.  May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in His Sight because He is our Rock, our Redeemer.  Amen!

Enjoy,

Sis. Shirley

TITLE: “For His Name’s Sake”             SCRIPTURE BASE: 2 Chronicles 20:1-18

Strategic prayer is not only teaching but training time.  If you want to hear from God, if you need to have a deeper communication, if you need a word, if you need Divine intervention, if you need God to move in to the situation and stop the enemy dead in his track, exalt the Lord, cast down every vein imagination, cast down everything that would exalt itself against the knowledge of God, change the atmosphere.  Use your authority to cast down everything that will come against you:  fear, procrastination, weak belief system, defeated attitude, just to name a few.  Release your faith to destroy the evil powers.  Exalt Him above every word that is formed against you, every trial, crisis, problem, every assignment the enemy might have sent against you, individually and corporately.  God is the most High in our minds and in our mouths.  Declare that the Lord God loves His people and fights for His people. Our God reigns; He is our deliverer:  He formed us, He forgave us, He fights for us and He shows favor to us!

Ask God to glorify His church, His people.  Let the angels descend to minister to God’s heirs of salvation.  God will take us out to bring us in.  Create an atmosphere for His Holiness, His Holy Presence, His Holy Spirit.  This is your day for an encounter with the Lord.  You don’t always have to start a war; sometimes the war comes against you.  War has started and the enemy has started to come against you, but you can smash him in the Name of Jesus Christ.  We can stop the attack before it comes. Tell the enemy whatever he is bringing, we smash it in Jesus’ Name.  Satan is very patient; he sets us up by sowing a negative seed and he waits for the harvest by careful planning over the years – homes, children, marriages, jobs, our nation.  He waits for years for total destruction and is very calculating.  Stop it, neutralize it and smash his actions.  Make the enemy frustrated and confused so that he will have to go away and start all over again.  We don’t know what God has protected us against, what He has stopped in its tracks.  The angels have moved us out of the way – they have stopped activities in the spiritual realm.

Kingdom promises are there, but every day we have to put it to our account and pray.  When you find yourself when all hell breaks loose – you find yourself in a war at home, you go to work and you find yourself in a war there, you need a prayer that will strategize against the tactics of the enemy.  God will get very angry against the enemy and will slaughter them.  It is time for God to intervene.  Roll the problem right back to God and let Him know that the ball is back in His court.  (2 Chronicles 20:6-18)

Prayer strategies to follow:

1. Rehearse God’s greatness – make God the most high in your mind and make God the most high in your mouth.  Tell God, “You are the Ruler of kingdom, no one can withstand You.”  God will become great in your mind as He becomes great in your mouth so that your problems will not destroy your mind.  The battle is always in the mind.  If your mind is affected by fear, by depression, the battle is lost.  No one can stand against God because He is the greatest.  Man has tried to discredit God but it never works.  He is the God that delivers – no one can keep Him bound.  Put the whole case and pressure of the crisis on God’s back.
2. Remember God’s past victories – yours or other people’s victories.  God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  See yourself in that situation:  sickness – He raised Lazarus from the dead.  He promoted Joseph from a position of slavery to a position of assistant to King Pharaoh.  He was a provider for Moses by parting the Red Sea.  God healed and protected many others.  We don’t have to stay poor; we go by God’s economy.  What has God done for you before?  Thank Him again for what He has done and let Him know that you can trust Him to bring you through whatever you may be going through now.

1. Remind God of His promises – He has always kept, and will continue to keep, His promises.  He has exalted His name above everything (“I will bow down toward your Holy Temple and will praise Your Name for Your love and Your faithfulness for You have exalted above all things Your Name and Your Word.” – Psalm 138:2).  God you said, “By His stripes I am healed; I will provide all your needs; no weapon formed against me shall prosper, believe in the Lord Jesus and your household will be saved.”  Tell God whatever promise you need: “Father, Your Word says, etc.”  The enemy cannot discredit His Word.  Plead the Blood of Jesus over your situation so that when He sees the Blood of Jesus, He will pass over it.
2. Bring your request to Him – He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him.  Family, health, finances, job, home – tell God exactly what you want Him to do.  Be specific – tell God exactly what the problem is and how you need Him to bless you.  This is a prayer clinic.  Thank Him in advance.
3. Recognize your inability – “Father, this is bigger than I am.  I have no power and don’t know what to do.  My eyes are constantly upon you.  If it doesn’t stop, it can mess up my mind, my home and I realize I cannot fight for myself.”  Tell God you need Him, that you recognize your inability to fight for yourself – this is your dependence.  You need strength, wisdom and direction.  Humbly depend upon the Lord.
4. Roll over and release the problem upon Him – it is for His Name sake (verse 8).  “You must deliver us for Your Name sake.  You will hear and save us because of the credibility of Your Name.”  Exalt His Word and Name above everything.

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